The government has beefed up surveillance at the Uganda – Tanzania border points amidst reports of the deadly Marburg hemorrhagic fever in the neighboring country.
According to the Ministry of Health, they have officially started screening all individuals entering the country through the borders points of Kasensero, Kikagati, and Mutukula.
Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson at the Ministry says mobile laboratories have been moved to the border to ensure that screening and sample collection are swiftly done. This development comes just months after Uganda successfully beat another hemorrhagic virus Ebola Sudan Virus , that was first realized in Mubende district. It later spread to over seven districts leaving several fatalities and recoveries.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a statement indicating that five cases including a health worker were reported to have succumbed to the virus.
“The efforts by Tanzania’s health authorities to establish the cause of the disease is a clear indication of the determination to effectively respond to the outbreak. We are working with the government to rapidly scale up control measures to halt the spread of the virus and end the outbreak as soon as possible,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.
According to Tanzania’s National Public Health Laboratory the disease broke out in Tanzania’s north-west Kagera region with eight people presenting with similar symptoms.Samples taken to determine the cause of illness show the eight people developed symptoms including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and renal failure in Tanzania’s north-west Kagera region.
Five of the eight cases, including a health worker, have died and the remaining three are receiving treatment. A total of 161 contacts have been identified and monitored.
This is Tanzania’s first-ever Marburg Disease Outbreak, however, Uganda has had multiple outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever. The first outbreak was reported in the 1960s in Marburg Germany where scientists were conducting a study that involved monkeys from Uganda.
Marburg virus was shown to survive for up to 4-5 days on contaminated surfaces. In aerosol it was not stable, the specific rate of its inactivation being 0.05 min-1.
The virus spreads through contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with: Blood or body fluids (urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, and semen) of a person who is sick with or died from Marburg virus disease.