The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says Rwanda has passed the worst phase of the Marburg virus outbreak that has killed 15 people over the past three weeks.
The African Union agency said that in spite of the calamity experienced, Rwanda has now managed to put the outbreak under “under control.”
On Thursday, Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said that the risk of the virus spreading out of Rwanda is now “almost zero,” and that the country will soon come out of the crisis.
“We have had a strong response to the outbreak by a range of government officials. The mechanism they put in place, even to follow the contacts, ensures that no contact can fly out of Rwanda,” he said.
The outbreak had seen Rwanda’s neighbours raise their alert levels by enhancing surveillance.
In Kenya, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said on Tuesday that preventive measures were already in place to monitor human traffic with Rwanda.
"The ministry is instituting urgent measures to prevent the importation of cases and subsequent transmission across the country,” she said.
On September 27, Rwanda's Ministry of Health reported cases of Marburg virus disease, including in some patients in health facilities. Illnesses have been reported in several provinces around the country.
As of October 15, 2024, Rwanda had recorded 62 illnesses and 15 deaths from Marburg, with health workers, particularly those who work in intensive care units, most affected.
Of the 30 districts in Rwanda, the confirmed cases have been reported in seven -- Gasabo, Nyarugenge, Kicukiro, and Kigali City.
The virus has also been reported in Gatsibo and Nyagatare in eastern districts, sharing borders with Tanzania and Uganda. In western Rwanda, positive cases have been reported in Rubavu on the border with DR Congo.
The CDC has put up a "Level 3" travel notice for Rwanda, which means that people should reconsider non-essential travel to the country.
When the outbreak was reported, Rwanda was on “Level 2,” with recommendations for people travelling there to observe enhanced precautions.
“Confirmed infections have been reported in several districts and numbers of infections have increased,” Africa CDC said.
This is Rwanda’s first outbreak of Marburg, a rare but severe haemorrhagic fever, similar to Ebola, which can cause serious illness and death.
The highly infectious virus was first identified in 1967 and, since then, it has caused sporadic outbreaks in different parts of Africa.
The virus is transmitted to humans through contact with fruit bats, which are considered natural hosts, and spreads between people through direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, and vomit, or contaminated materials like bedding.
Marburg has a high fatality rate, ranging from 24 percent to 88 percent, depending on the strain and the effectiveness of medical intervention.
Symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.
While there is no authorised vaccine or treatment for Marburg, and vaccines are still experimental, making it a trial-and-error exercise to contain the spread.
Rwanda received 700 doses of a vaccine under trial from the United States-based Sabin Vaccine Institute for health workers and emergency responders as well as individuals who have been in contact with confirmed cases.
Around 346 vaccine doses have since been administered.
Pharmaceutical companies such as Gilead and Mapp Biopharmaceuticals have also donated doses of experimental treatments, including Remdesivir and the monoclonal antibody MBP-091.
CDC has deployed several scientists to assist Rwanda with its investigation and response to Marburg.
