The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of a suspected new outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus in north-west Tanzania, saying that at least eight people have already been killed by the disease.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has confirmed that the suspected outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Tanzania killed no fewer than eight people, warning that the risk of further spread in the country and region was high.

The WHO reported nine suspected cases of Marburg virus, resulting in eight deaths across two districts in Tanzania. It suspects that the virus could spread farther as the outbreak region borders Uganda,

Tanzanian authorities deny Marburg virus presence after WHO reports deaths, with laboratory tests returning negative.

Tanzania's government said no-one in the country had tested positive for the Marburg virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) said at least eight people in the northwest were believed to have died from it.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A suspected outbreak of the Marburg virus in northwest Tanzania has infected nine people, killing eight of them, the World Health Organization has said, weeks after an outbreak of the disease was declared over in neighbouring Rwanda.

A suspected Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania has been linked to nine cases and eight deaths, according to WHO.

Nine cases of the deadly disease have been reported in the Kagera region of Tanzania so far. But officials expect that number to rise.

With the fatality rate of 8% it is the same virus family as Ebola. The main carrier is from fruit bats which spreads to humans then through the contact of bodily fluids of infected individuals, it spreads to others.