We inform you about the latest infectious disease outbreaks from overseas. Read the new articles.
Information as of March 25, 2025
Tanzania declares end of Marburg virus disease outbreak|13 March 2025|African Region
Dar es Salaam – Tanzania today declared the end of Marburg virus disease outbreak after recording no new cases over 42 days since the death of the last confirmed case on 28 January 2025. The outbreak, in which two confirmed and eight probable cases were recorded (all deceased), was the second the country has experienced. Both this outbreak, which was declared on 20 January 2025, and the one in 2023 occurred in the north-eastern Kagera region.
African region records further decline in TB deaths, cases|21 March 2025|African Region
Brazzaville – The African region has recorded the steepest decline globally in tuberculosis (TB) deaths since 2015, despite falling short of key milestones to significantly lower the burden of the disease and end its toll on health and lives.Deaths from TB fell by 42% between 2015 and 2023 while cases declined by 24% over the same period, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global TB Report 2024.
Marburg virus disease|13 March 2025| United Republic of Tanzania
The first identified case, an adult female, had symptom onset on 9 December and died on 16 December 2024. The last confirmed case died on 28 January, and a safe and dignified burial was performed. No new confirmed or probable cases have been reported following this burial. All 10 cases were reported from Biharamulo district in Kagera region; the median age of cases was 30 years (range: 1 to 75 years) and the majority of cases (70%, 7) were females.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus|13 March 2025|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
All cases involved males aged between 27 and 78 years, and all presented with comorbidities. None were health workers, and from investigations only one was found to have indirect contact with dromedary camels (hosts of MERS-CoV) and their raw products (milk).
Sudan virus disease|8 March 2025|Uganda
On 1 March 2025, the Ministry of Health released a press statement about the confirmation of a new case. The case was an under 5-year-old child identified at the Mulago Hospital where the patient presented with signs and symptoms meeting the suspect case definition. A laboratory sample was collected, and the child was confirmed with SVD on 26 February by PCR. Following investigations, two probable deaths linked to this case have been reported. This includes the child’s mother who was pregnant at the time of symptom onset on 22 January and died on 6 February. Her newborn child died on 12 February. The three deaths did not have a supervised burial. On 3 March, an 11th case was confirmed, an adult female, contact of case 10, and on 4 March, a 12th case was confirmed, an adult female, contact of the probable case (the mother of case 10). Both of these cases are currently admitted to treatment facilities.
Cluster of community deaths in Basankusu, Equateur|3 March 2025| Democratic Republic of the Congo
Enhanced surveillance was implemented shortly after, using a broad working case definition given the limited details on the clinical presentation, disease progression, demographic and other characteristics of the initial cluster. As of 25 February, a total of 53 deaths were reported (Figure 1). Deaths occurred across all age groups, but compared to the age and sex distribution of the population, appeared to disproportionately affect adolescents and young adult males, particularly in the initial cluster (Figure 2). This further pointed to an unusual event, as mortality from common causes in the area is usually highest among the elderly, and among young children (under five years) in a context of a high burden from infectious diseases, including malaria. The majority of deaths (50) occurred in the same village (Figure 3). Furthermore, the incidence of death rapidly declined following the initial cluster (Figure 1), suggesting this is not an event spreading in time or place.
Public Health Risk Assessment related to measles: implications for the Americas Region – 24 March 2025 |24 Mar 2025 |Pan American Health Organization
This rapid risk assessment (RRA) aims to assess the current risk to public health in the Americas Region, associated with the increase in measles outbreaks and cases during 2025 in some countries of the Region.