Eight people have likely died from an outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in a northwestern region of Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The suspected outbreak has occurred in the Kagera region – the area where the first known MVD cases were diagnosed in March 2023. On 10 January 2025, the WHO received reports that five people had died from suspected MVD cases. A day later, this had risen to eight deaths from nine suspected cases, conferring an 89% case fatality ratio. The organisation then issued a disease outbreak alert on 14 January.
The WHO said samples from two patients are currently being analysed to confirm MVD infection. The suspected cases, which also include healthcare workers, presented with symptoms such as headaches, fever, and vomiting blood. External haemorrhage—bleeding from orifices —was seen in the later stages of the disease.
The organisation said the regional risk of this suspected outbreak is high due to Kagera’s transit hub role. The region serves as a place for significant cross-border movement to countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, meaning there is a potential for MVD to spread to neighbouring countries. The national risk is also assessed as high by the agency due to the delayed detection and isolation of cases.
The WHO has currently placed the global risk as low, stating that there has so far been no confirmed international spread. The agency did, however, allude to Kagera’s airport that connects to Tanzania’s largest city Dar es Salaam, where international air travel is possible.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement: “We would expect further cases in coming days as disease surveillance improves. WHO has offered its full assistance to the government of Tanzania, and affected communities.
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By GlobalData“We recommend neighbouring countries be on alert and prepared to manage potential cases. We do not recommend travel or trade restrictions with Tanzania at this time.”
MVD is not easily transmissible, being spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. The virus can be difficult to distinguish from other infectious diseases such as malaria and other haemorrhagic fevers, with infection confirmed by diagnostic lab analysis. A species of fruit bat is considered to be the natural host of the virus, which can spread to humans working in mines or caves, but the WHO said the source of the current outbreak in Tanzania is unknown.
Vaccine development
Whilst there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments for MVD, a range of candidates are in development. The WHO has prioritised four vaccine candidates, all viral-vectored based, to combat future outbreaks. The first to enter clinical trials was cAd3-Marburg developed by the Vaccine Research Centre at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). A Phase II trial (NCT05817422) was launched in October 2023 following a successful Phase I trial (NCT03475056), which showed the vaccine conferred a robust antibody response in 95% of participants.
The UK’s University of Oxford has also developed a vaccine called ChAdOx1 Marburg, which entered clinical trials in July 2024. In the US, the US Food and Drug Administration awarded orphan drug designation to a vaccine being developed by Soligenix in April 2024 after positive preclinical data.
