Tanzania is grappling with a new outbreak do the deadly Marburg virus disease which has already claimed at least eight lives in the north-western Kagera region.

WHO reported Wednesday that a suspected outbreak of Marburg disease has claimed eight lives in a remote region of northern Tanzania.

“We believe that, as Tanzania successfully controlled the outbreak two years ago, the country will manage to control this disease as well. WHO is providing $3 million to support control efforts and strengthen disease monitoring systems,” Dr Tedros said.

The Africa CDC emphasised its collaboration with the Tanzanian authorities to ensure coordinated efforts and high-level political commitment to the response.

The disease is a close cousin of Ebola, causing similar symptoms and spreading in the same way. It can cause death in up to 88% of infected people.

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.

Tanzania's president said a sample tested positive for the Marburg virus, which has a fatality rate of up to 88 percent if untreated.

Ugandan officials said the country was on high alert to prevent the spread of Marburg virus disease (MVD) following an outbreak in neighbouring Rwanda. A video shared on TikTok two months later purported to show Uganda’s health minister announcing that the virus had crossed the border,

Tanzania has confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one person tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has declared an outbreak of Marburg virus, confirming a single case in the northwestern region of Kagera after a meeting with WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

A suspected Marburg virus outbreak in the Kagera region of Tanzania has been linked to nine suspected cases and eight deaths, according to WHO.The agency has classified the risk for regional and national spread to be high;