As Rwanda battles its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, the country’s Ministry of Health yesterday reported seven new cases and one death. At a press conference today, the country’s health minister shared further details about the outbreak, including that vaccine trials are expected to begin soon.
In other developments, German authorities reported negative results for two travelers who returned from Rwanda and were quarantined in Hamburg due to a history of exposure at a Rwandan hospital where patients in Marburg region were being treated. .
Of the confirmed cases, 29 are healthcare workers.
The new infections and deaths bring the total number of people infected with Marburg virus in Rwanda to 36, of whom 11 have died, making it one of the world’s largest outbreaks involving the virus.
At today’s Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) media briefing, Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana, MD, said 29 (80%) of the patients were healthcare workers. Currently, 25 people are receiving isolation treatment. Health authorities have identified 323 contacts for monitoring.
Like the Marburg outbreak in other countries in the past, the Rwandan outbreak came to the attention of health authorities when medical workers fell ill. This virus is known to be transmitted through contact with infected body fluids. He noted that the first two patients did not respond to standard treatments for other diseases, such as malaria, which have similar initial clinical symptoms.
Many of the patients are part of a cluster of close contacts in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital where the suspected index case was treated.
At a World Health Organization (WHO) briefing today, Brian Chilombo, MD, MPH, said the index patient died on September 8 and that the outbreak has spread to two hospitals in Kigare, King Faisal Hospital and University Teaching Hospital. patients were said to be involved.
Nsanzimana said the ministry will receive approximately 5,000 doses of remdesivir to provide advanced treatment to patients in Marburg.
He also said that officials plan to begin vaccine trials in the coming days, and that vaccine details and official release date will be announced soon. Currently, there are no specific Marburg virus treatments or vaccines approved.
Epidemiological investigations and genetic sequencing are still ongoing. He characterized the outbreak as “controlled but not contained.”
German passenger tests negative, CDC warns health care providers
Yesterday, German health authorities transferred two train passengers to a hospital in Hamburg for testing following a history of exposure at a medical facility in Rwanda where patients from Marburg canton were being treated.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) announced today that it is in close contact with German public health authorities, who today reported a negative test result.
The report states that while the risk of Marburg disease among European residents traveling to or living in affected areas of Rwanda remains considered low, the risk of transmission in local health care settings is moderate. He said there is. It urged travelers to avoid contact with people with symptoms or bodies of infected people.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today issued a Health Alert Network notice to health care providers, urging them to note the outbreak and be on the lookout for possible imported cases.
Most of the cases in Rwanda are related to health care workers, but the CDC notes that some cases are not related to known transmission routes, and there is a possibility that new cases may go undetected or unreported. suggested that there is.
Cases have been reported from seven districts in Rwanda, with three districts in Kigali reporting the most cases.
