NAIROBI, July 1 (Reuters) – Africa’s top public health agency said on Wednesday that Ugandan health authorities had confirmed an isolated case of Marburg virus disease, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, while conducting surveillance for the country’s Ebola outbreak.
A spokesperson for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention added that according to Uganda no contacts of the Marburg case had developed symptoms and there was currently no active case in the East African country.
A spokesperson for Uganda’s health ministry said he was not aware of a Marburg outbreak.
Africa CDC said the Marburg case was detected in Kyegegwa district in the west of Uganda, in a one-and-a-half-year-old child who had died.
“Africa CDC is engaging the Government of Uganda through official public health channels on reports concerning Marburg virus disease. At this stage, we cannot confirm reports of any additional case,” the spokesperson Saran Koly said.
“Africa CDC stands ready to support verification, risk assessment and response readiness as needed.”
Two World Health Organization officials told Reuters they were also aware that Uganda had detected a Marburg case.
Uganda’s last Marburg outbreak was in 2017.
(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby and Ammu Kannampilly; Writing by George Obulutsa;Editing by Alexander Winning)
