Kampala - Uganda Friday warned tourists to avoid coming into contact with bats and "non-human primates" in the west of the country after a Dutch tourist died from the rare Marburg virus.

The woman died Thursday but no symptoms have developed amongst anybody that came into contact with her, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said on its website.

There is little chance of the infectious disease spreading as it can only be caught through contact with body fluids, the institute said.

Officials believe the unnamed woman caught the illness after visiting a python cave in the Maramagambo Forest region, a popular destination for tourists.

She developed symptoms a few days after returning to The Netherlands at the start of July.

The World Health Organization also said travellers should avoid caves in the west of the country.

Marburg is related to the Ebola virus. Victims suffer high fever, vomiting and severe bleeding, and die within a week of contracting the illness.

The disease broke out among gold mine workers in western Uganda in 2007, killing one person and forcing the isolation of hundreds of others and the closure of mines. (dpa)