By Lucy Adautin
Rwanda is set to begin clinical trials for vaccines and treatments targeting Marburg disease in the coming weeks, according to the country’s health minister on Thursday. This comes as Rwanda faces its first outbreak of the viral fever, which has claimed 11 lives.
The virus was identified in late September, and 36 cases have been confirmed to date, according to health ministry reports.
“This is part of our efforts to help people recover quickly by utilising vaccines and medicines specifically developed to fight this outbreak, currently in the final phase of research,” the minister, Sabin Nsanzimana, said.
“We are collaborating with the pharmaceutical companies that developed these, alongside the World Health Organization to expedite the process through multilateral collaboration.”
He mentioned that the government is in discussions with companies from the US and Europe.
The ministry is currently tracking 410 individuals who had contact with infected patients, said Yvan Butera, the assistant health minister. Additionally, five others tested negative but are awaiting further test results.
Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever, with symptoms such as high fever, severe headaches, and malaise typically manifesting within seven days of infection, according to the WHO.
With a fatality rate reaching up to 88%, the virus is in the same family as Ebola. It is initially transmitted to humans by fruit bats and then spreads through contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals.
In 2023, neighboring Tanzania reported cases of Marburg, while Uganda faced an outbreak in 2017.
