Ugandan health authorities have confirmed one isolated case of Marburg virus disease during ongoing surveillance for an Ebola outbreak, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
The case was detected in Kyegegwa district, western Uganda, in a 1.5-year-old child who died, Africa CDC reported.
According to the agency, no contacts of the child have shown symptoms and there are no active Marburg cases in the East African country at this time. Africa CDC spokesperson Saran Koly said the agency is engaging Ugandan officials through official public health channels.
“We cannot confirm reports of any additional case,” Koly said. “Africa CDC stands ready to support verification, risk assessment and response readiness as needed.”
Uganda’s Ministry of Health spokesperson said he was not aware of a Marburg outbreak. The World Health Organization said Uganda notified it of the case on 30 June and WHO has since alerted member states.
“WHO has requested further information and is supporting the local response, including case investigation, active case finding, contact tracing and community engagement,” a WHO spokesperson said.
Marburg is a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever that requires the same containment steps as Ebola, health officials said.
Uganda’s last Marburg outbreak was in 2017. The country has recorded three other outbreaks historically, WHO said.
Meanwhile, Uganda is still responding to an Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak linked to the emergency in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Health authorities have reported 20 Ebola cases and 2 deaths so far.
