•A total of 212 contacts have so far been listed but none is still under quarantine
•There is ongoing tracking of rumors and misinformation using established community-based platforms
Tanzania is likely to be declared Marburg-free in the next few weeks should no new case be recorded.
The situation report released by the Tanzania Ministry of Health dated May 14 shows the country had marked 26 days since the last confirmed case tested negative.
The ministry noted that 16 days had remained before the declaration of the end of the outbreak. The 16 days end on May 30.
This will come as a relief to neighbouring countries including Kenya who have been on high alert to avert any possible importation of cases.
According to the report, a cumulative nine cases and six deaths have been recorded to date representing a Case Fatality Rate of 66.7 per cent.
A total of 212 contacts have so far been listed but none is still under quarantine while three new alerts that had been received did not meet the standard case definition.
“There is ongoing tracking of rumours and misinformation using established community-based platforms,” the ministry said.
Similarly, there is ongoing enhanced screening including domestic travellers, with a total of 7,743 travellers from Kagera which was the epicentre of the outbreak, screened by May 14.
“Cumulatively, a total of 354,959 travellers have been screened since the beginning of the outbreak,” it said.
The ministry is further ensuring the collection and management of hazardous waste and orientation and supervision of proper decontamination procedures.
“We facilitated reunification of the father who abandoned his family due to fear of being infected with Marburg after his child was reported as a suspect.”
The ministry has however acknowledged delayed payment of hotel bills used for quarantine and delayed processing of response funds disbursed through the exchequer as some of the challenges that have affected response effort.
Health authorities in Tanzania on March 17 issued an alert and declared the outbreak of an unnamed epidemic disease considered to be contagious.
As a result, the Kenya Ministry of Health called on health officials at the various points of entry to ensure all travellers entering the country from Tanzania were screened to pick up any case of the virus before entering the country.
According to World Health Organization, Marburg is in the same family as Ebola.
It is a highly infectious and often fatal hemorrhagic fever.
The disease is transmitted to people through contact with fruit bats and their faeces. For example, male mine workers in bat-infested mines were infected.
It then spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials touched by infected people.