Tanzania ’s president has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease (MVD), a highly infectious virus like Ebola that can be fatal in up to 88 per cent of cases without treatment.

Officials previously questioned whether the deadly disease was indeed present in the African country, which had seen 8 suspected Marburg deaths.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced a confirmed case of the Marburg virus in the country. The diagnosis came after laboratory tests conducted in Kagera and confirmed in Dar es Salaam. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attended the press conference in Dodoma.

Tanzania's president has announced an outbreak of Marburg virus, an Ebola-like virus, just a week after her health minister denied that there were any cases in the country. President Samia Suluhu Hassan said at a press conference on Monday that health authorities had confirmed one case of Marburg in the north-western region of Kagera.