The Tanzanian government has declared that the Marburg virus outbreak in the country is over.

The outbreak of Marburg Virus which was confirmed about two months ago in the north-western Kagera region was the country’s first outbreak of the disease in the East African country.

A total of nine cases and six deaths were recorded in the outbreak after laboratory examination verified that the cause of deaths and illnesses reported earlier in the region was Marburg.

The national health authorities, with the assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partner organizations, promptly launched an outbreak response to control the virus’s spread and save lives.

The last reported case tested negative for the second Marburg test on April 19, hence commencing the 42-day statutory countdown to declare the end to the dangerous disease.

In a similar development, the WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that if no new cases are identified in Equatorial Guinea, the outbreak will be declared over by next week.

In Africa, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Uganda.

Marburg Virus is extremely infectious and causes hemorrhagic fever, with a death rate of up to 88%.

It belongs to the same virus family as the Ebola virus.

The illness develops rapidly, with a high fever, severe headache, and extreme malaise.