Rwanda Marburg virus outbreak update
In a follow-up to a report on the Marburg Virus Disease outbreak in Rwanda Friday, the Ministry of Health provided more details yesterday:
26 MVD cases confirmed and six deaths reported currently in seven of the country’s 30 districts.
Twenty cases are in isolation and receiving treatment, while 161 people who came into contact with the reported cases have so far been identified and are being monitored as the authorities ramp up comprehensive response measures and deepen investigation to determine the origin of the infection.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports they are mobilizing expertise, outbreak response tools, including emergency medical supplies to help reinforce the control measures being rolled out to curb the virus. A consignment of clinical care and infection prevention and control supplies is being readied and will be delivered to Kigali in the coming days from WHO’s Emergency Response Hub in Nairobi, Kenya.
“We’re rapidly setting all the critical outbreak response aspects in motion to support Rwanda halt the spread of this virus swiftly and effectively,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “With the country’s already robust public health emergency response system, WHO is collaborating closely with the national authorities to provide the needed support to further enhance the ongoing efforts.”
WHO is also coordinating efforts to reinforce collaborative cross-border measures for readiness and response in countries neighboring Rwanda to ensure timely detection and control of the virus to avert further spread.
Marburg virus vaccine candidate enters clinical trial to test safety and immunogenicity
Although there are several promising candidate medical countermeasures that are progressing through clinical development, there is no licensed vaccine currently available to effectively combat Marburg virus disease. WHO is coordinating a consortium of experts to promote preclinical and clinical development of vaccines and therapeutics against Marburg virus disease.
This is the first MVD outbreak recorded in Rwanda. The most recent outbreaks were reported in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea last year with nine total cases (8 confirmed) and 5 deaths and 16 confirmed/23 probable cases and 12 deaths reported, respectively.
Most outbreaks of MVD have occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the virus has spread to other parts of the world through infected travelers or accidental laboratory infections (Netherlands, USA, Russia and Germany), for example.
Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%. It is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. Many patients develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days. The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.