Uganda formally reported to the World Health Organization on Tuesday that it had detected a Marburg disease outbreak in the western part of the country, a spokesperson for the Geneva-based global health agency told STAT. The development could further complicate the effort to contain what is already the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record in Central Africa. Both diseases are viral hemorrhagic fevers.
The Ugandan government has not yet publicly disclosed a Marburg outbreak. But the U.S. embassy in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, issued a health alert on Monday, saying it had been made aware of a possible case of Marburg in the country. The alert was a level 4 advisory alerting Americans they should not travel to Uganda.
