The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in north-west Tanzania, saying that at least eight people have already been killed by the disease.

The World Health Organization says an outbreak of suspected Marburg disease has killed eight people in a remote part of northern Tanzania

Marburg virus disease, caused by a virus from the same family as Ebola, has a fatality rate of up to 88% without treatment.

A suspected Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania has been linked to nine cases and eight deaths, according to WHO.

In March 2023, Tanzania reported its first Marburg virus outbreak, which also occurred in Kagera region. The outbreak was declared over in June 2023, with nine infections reported, six of them fatal. The WHO said zoonotic reservoirs of the virus, such as fruit bats, remain in the area.

The WHO has reported a “high” regional and national risk from the haemorrhagic virus while the global risk remains low.

There’s a suspected outbreak of the deadly Marburg disease in a high transit area of Tanzania, raising the risk of regional spread.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwest Tanzania has infected nine people, killing eight of them, the World Health Organization has said, weeks after an outbreak of the disease was declared over in neighbouring Rwanda.