Notice in place to prevent the spread of Marburg virus in Rwanda, Kigali
The first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Rwanda was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on 28 September 2024.[1][3][4] The outbreak is one of the biggest Marburg outbreaks ever documented.
Most cases were in healthcare workers, especially those working in intensive care units. Cases have been reported in seven of the 30 districts with 3 districts in Kigali Province reporting the highest number. As of 10 October 2024, there were 58 confirmed cases and 13 fatalities.
Marburg virus disease is a viral hemorrhagic fever which affects people and primates. The disease can cause serious illness or death.[5] The virus was first discovered in 1967 after outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, which had been linked to lab work involving African green monkeys from Uganda.[6] Since then outbreaks have been recorded in Uganda, Guinea, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and Tanzania.[5]
Marburg virus can be transmitted to humans from fruit bats, and spreads through human-to-human contact, typically via bodily fluids and contaminated medical equipment.[7]
The fatality rate of Marburg virus disease is around 50 percent, but it can vary from 24 to 88 percent depending on several factors.[8]
The index case for the outbreak is believed to be a 27-year-old man who was being treated at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali after being exposed to the virus from contact with bats.[14]
As of 3 October 2024, there were 36 confirmed cases, at least 19 of whom were healthcare workers, most of them working in intensive care units,[19] and 11 people reportedly died of the infection,[20]
On 6 October 2024, there were 49 confirmed cases and 12 deaths,[21] and on October 7, 56 cases out of 2387 tests carried out.[22] As of 10 October 2024, there were 58 confirmed cases and 13 dead.[23]
On 20 October, authorities said that there was no community transmission of disease after no new cases were recorded in the preceding six days.[14]
As of October 30, 2024, Rwanda has recorded 66 illnesses and 15 deaths from Marburg while 75 percent of patients with Marburg had recovered.[24]
On 6 October 2024, Rwandan health minister Sabin Nsanzimana confirmed that the country had received about 700 vaccine doses to be used in trial, which will be distributed on a priority basis starting with healthcare workers, the frontline response team and individuals who were in contact with the confirmed cases.[33] These trial vaccines were delivered by the Sabin Vaccine Institute as a support by the government of US and international partners.[34] As of 14 October, more than 200 people have been vaccinated.[35]
On October 31, 2024, the Sabin Vaccine Institute dispatched 1,000 additional investigational vaccine doses for a randomized clinical trial arm within an ongoing open-label study.[36][37] As of end of October, more than 1,500 frontline workers had been vaccinated in Rwanda with the Sabin vaccine.[37]
^"MSF's response to CEPI's policy regarding equitable access". Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign. September 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2020. In vaccine development, access to know how is important. Knowledge and expertise including but not limited to purification techniques, cell lines, materials, software codes and their transfer of this to alternative manufacturers in the event the awardee discontinues development of a promising vaccine is critically important. The recent example of Merck abandoning the development of rVSV vaccines for Marburg (rVSV-MARV) and for Sudan-Ebola (rVSV-SUDV) is a case in point. Merck continues to retain vital know-how on the rVSV platform as it developed the rVSV vaccine for Zaire-Ebola (rVSV-ZEBOV) with funding support from GAVI. While it has transferred the rights on these vaccines back to Public Health Agency of Canada, there is no mechanism to share know how on the rVSV platform with other vaccine developers who would like to also use rVSV as a vector against other pathogens.
^"Travellers given warning as incurable disease spreads after eight die". Daily Record. 1 October 2024. The World Health Organisation has issued a 'high' risk warning after 26 cases and eight fatalities were linked to the spread of the deadly and incurable Marburg Virus Disease. Efforts are under way to trace 300 individuals who may have been in contact with those infected.
