Kampala , Uganda ( CNN ) -- Uganda has been declared free of Marburg , an Ebola-like viral hemorrhagic fever , the World Health Organization said . The declaration by the United Nations health agency comes after a 42-day surveillance period since the death of a health worker who contracted the virus . This included a period of isolation for those with whom he had come in contact . The declaration also comes as the East African nation begins hosting the 39th Africa Travel Association World Congress , which has attracted more than 400 travel and tourism companies from the United States and Europe . `` So with the WHO 's procedures , two cycles of incubation period [ totaling ] 42 days is over then we congratulate the Ministry of Health and the government of Uganda for the wonderful job of containing it , '' declared WHO Country Representative Wondimagegnehu Alemu . However , noting that the deadly epidemic of Ebola in West Africa continues , Alemu said `` the threat is not over yet . '' Uganda declared the outbreak of the second Marburg epidemic following laboratory tests confirming that one health worker , a 30-year-old male radiographer , had died of the hemorrhagic fever at a Kampala hospital on September 28 . During the outbreak , 197 people -- mainly relatives of the deceased health worker and colleagues who were in contact with him -- were placed in isolation . Eight of them developed symptoms similar to Marburg , but they tested negative for the viral hemorrhagic fever . Uganda 's minister for primary health care issued a warning for people to reduce contact with wild animals , especially fruit bats , and urged health workers to wear gloves and appropriate protective equipment when taking care of ill patients . Marburg virus was first identified in 1967 , when 31 people became sick in Germany and Yugoslavia in an outbreak that was eventually traced back to laboratory monkeys imported from Uganda . Since then the virus has appeared sporadically , with just a dozen outbreaks on record . Many of those involved only one diagnosed case . Uganda in 2012 endured an outbreak of Marburg that killed nine of the 18 people infected , according to the Ministry of Health . Marburg virus causes symptoms similar to Ebola , beginning with fever and weakness and often leading to internal or external bleeding , organ failure and death . The death rate has run as high as 80 % , although it was significantly lower in the initial outbreak when patients were cared for in relatively modern , European hospitals .
WHO representative : `` two cycles of incubation period '' totaling 42 days have passed . A health worker died of the Ebola-like viral hemorrhagic fever on September 28 . The patient was a nurse who had been working in an Ebola treatment center for several weeks, and she became infected with the virus while caring for patients at that facility. An outbreak of Marburg occurred in 2012 , killing nine of the 18 people infected .