Everything You Need to Know About the Marburg Virus Outbreak in Rwanda
The country’s health minister has urged for calm, assuring Rwandans that the outbreak will not last for long.
Health minister Sabin Nsanzimana currently leads a Rwandan healthcare system regarded as one of the best on the continent.
On Monday evening, Rwanda’s Ministry of Health confirmed 27 cases of the Marburg virus, as the East African country is working to curb an ongoing outbreak of the deadly virus. Eighteen people are currently isolated and receiving treatment, while nine others have died. The cases are reported from seven districts, with about 70 percent of them being healthcare workers.
In response to the outbreak, the health ministry has laid out guidelines, including limiting the number of people permitted to attend the funeral of people who have passed away from the virus. While the published advisory states that “normal business and other activities continue as usual,” it stresses the need for stronger personal hygiene.
The Rwandan public has been urged to avoid close contact with those exhibiting Marburg virus symptoms like high fever, severe headaches, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhea. Healthcare facilities are required to cater to patients with symptoms of the virus “through the careful application of infection prevention and control measures,” while only one caregiver at a time is allowed for those hospitalized.
Marburg virus is a highly fatal disease that causes hemorrhagic fever and has a fatality ratio of up to 88 percent. It’s in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus, with initial human infection resulting from prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus bat colonies. Marburg spreads through human contact, as well as via surfaces and material contaminated with fluids carrying the virus.
Several Marburg virus outbreaks have occurred in African countries over the last few years, including outbreaks in Uganda and Ghana in 2017 and 2022, respectively. Last year, there were outbreaks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea. All these outbreaks were adequately handled and declared over within a few months.
Rwanda is widely regarded as having one of the best healthcare systems on the continent, and it is expected to comfortably deal with the Marburg virus outbreak. On Sunday, Rwanda’s health minister, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, addressed a press conference, urging calm and assuring Rwandans that the government, in partnership with the World Health Organization, will work hard to stop the viral outbreak.
“We have said from the start that people should continue their activities as usual. We are in a good place, and similar outbreaks in other countries have lasted no more than two or three months,” Nsanzimana started. “The key now is to stop the spread quickly.”
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