Travel advisory issued for Tanzania due to possible Marburg outbreak
In a follow-up to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on a suspected Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak in Tanzania, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel notice Wednesday for travelers to the eat African country.
WHO reports the suspected outbreak in the Kagera region in northwest Tanzania- 9 cases including eight fatalities.
The Tanzania Ministry of Health; however, reported laboratory test results from all samples taken have not confirmed the presence of Marburg virus.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged Tanzania's government to send its samples for testing to international reference labs and to collect additional samples in accordance with normal procedures.
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CDC advises travelers to Tanzania:
Consider getting travel insurance before you travel, including health and medical evacuation insurance, to cover yourself in case delays, injuries, or illnesses occur on your trip.
Avoid contact with sick people who have symptoms, such as fever, muscle pain, and rash.
Avoid contact with blood and other body fluids.
Avoid contact with dead bodies or items that have been in contact with dead bodies, participating in funeral or burial rituals, or attending a funeral or burial.
Avoid contact with fruit bats or entering the caves and mines where they live.
Avoid contact with nonhuman primates (e.g., chimpanzees, gorillas).
In addition, the federal health agency advises:
Watch your health for symptoms of Marburg while in the outbreak area and for 21 days after leaving. If you develop fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, rash, chest pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding or bruising (a late stage of illness):
Separate yourself from others (isolate) immediately.
Do not travel.
Contact local health authorities or a healthcare facility for advice. Calling ahead before going to a healthcare facility helps the facility prepare for your arrival, including contacting health authorities and taking any precautions needed to protect staff and other patients.
Marburg virus disease is a rare and deadly disease that has, at times, caused outbreaks in several African countries. The disease is named after the city in Germany where it was first reported in 1967.
Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, rash, chest pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding or bruising (a late stage of illness).
Marburg is spread by contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from Marburg. It is also spread by contact with contaminated objects (such as clothing, bedding, needles, and medical equipment) or by contact with animals, such as fruit bats and nonhuman primates, who are infected with Marburg virus.
Infection with Marburg virus is often fatal. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Marburg.