Uganda says no confirmed Marburg cases after report of outbreak

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Uganda’s Ministry of Health told Xinhua on Wednesday that health authorities were not aware of any confirmed Marburg virus infections in the country.

Uganda has reported a Marburg virus disease outbreak to the World Health Organization (WHO), even as the country is responding to a separate Ebola outbreak, according to STAT.

The Ugandan government has not publicly announced the Marburg outbreak, but the World Health Organization was formally notified Tuesday of at least one case, STAT reported, citing the agency.

A source familiar with the response told STAT that two Marburg cases had been detected as of Monday and that the outbreak appeared to be localized.

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda said it was aware of reports of a potential Marburg case in western Uganda. It urged people to use the same precautions recommended for viral hemorrhagic fevers, including avoiding direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids from infected people.

Marburg virus disease is a severe and often deadly illness in the same family of viruses as Ebola. It can spread through bodily fluids, contaminated objects or direct contact with the body of someone who died from the disease.

The report comes as Uganda is also dealing with Ebola cases linked to a wider outbreak in neighboring Congo. As of Tuesday, Uganda had reported 20 Ebola cases and 2 deaths, according to a BNO News count based on health ministry and WHO data.

“We continue to request further information, and once this is received from Ugandan health authorities, we will continue to update Member States, and the wider public,” the WHO said in a statement to STAT.