Rwanda is facing its first-ever outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus, with 36 cases and 11 deaths reported. WHO has classified the risk as very high in Rwanda and high across the African region. Marburg, related to Ebola, has a fatality rate that can reach 88% in severe cases.
Rwanda is currently facing its first outbreak of the lethal Marburg virus, having reported 36 cases and 11 fatalities. The World Health Organization stated this week that the outbreak poses a very high risk in Rwanda, a high risk across the African region, and a low risk globally.
What is Marburg virus?
Marburg is a virus related to Ebola that causes hemorrhagic fever, with an average fatality rate of 50%, though it has reached 88% in past outbreaks, according to the WHO. Early medical care and rehydration can improve survival chances. Symptoms typically start with a sudden high fever and severe headache, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, and uncontrolled bleeding.
The virus was first identified in 1967 in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia, after lab work with African green monkeys from Uganda led to human infections. Since then, outbreaks and sporadic cases have occurred in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.
How does it spread?
Marburg is transmitted to humans through prolonged exposure to mines or caves inhabited by Rousettus fruit bats. It can also spread between people through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces and materials contaminated by those fluids, including blood.
Is there a vaccine?
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for Marburg, but Rwanda's health minister has indicated that several promising candidates may enter trials soon. These include vaccines developed by non-profit organizations like the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which is collaborating with Rwandan officials, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
Additionally, the team from Oxford University that created the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine started testing its Marburg vaccine candidate this summer in the UK using similar technology.
What else is happening?
Rwanda is monitoring around 300 contacts of confirmed cases, with about 70% involving healthcare workers from two facilities in Kigali. Cases have also been reported in seven of the country’s 30 districts. The virus spreads not only in healthcare settings but also at funerals, where close contact with the deceased is common in some cultures, according to Paul Hunter, a professor at the University of East Anglia.
Is Marburg reaching new places, and why?
In 2021, Guinea reported West Africa's first case of Marburg, followed by Ghana declaring its first outbreak in 2022, and Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea in 2023. These outbreaks were generally small and controlled through public health measures. Scientists suggest the rising frequency of outbreaks may be linked to human encroachment on animal habitats. The current outbreak in Rwanda is already among the largest recorded.
U.S. air travel is not expected to return to normal schedules until late on Sunday (15 November), the head of the ...
Irish army bomb disposal experts safely neutralised an explosive device discovered in central Dublin on Friday (13 November), close to where E...
Pope Leo visited a remote town in Peru's western Andes on Saturday (14 November), returning to a community he once served as bishop during a de...
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has backed withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and overhauling the country’s defence doctrine, calling both steps essential to national security and deterrence.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday (13 November) after a communications failure at air traffic control centres caused chaos at airports and triggered the longest nationwide shutdown since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
More than 30 people have been taken to hospital after a cargo ship collided with a passenger cruise docked on the Mississippi River in New Orleans on Friday (13 November).
Europe will send a team of diplomats to Ukraine peace talks rather than a single envoy, EU leaders agreed on Friday at the end of a summit in Dublin.
Spain’s parliament has approved a government package aimed at easing the country’s housing crisis, a day after workers staged the first general strike in 14 years over soaring housing costs.
A new study in mice suggests the brain’s protective barrier does more than block harmful substances. It also delivers essential proteins from the body, a process that may break down early in Alzheimer’s disease and offer a new target for treatment.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for the 5th of November, as health emergencies, humanitarian crises, political shifts, and cybersecurity threats put governments and essential services under pressure across the globe. Here are five stories worth your attention.
Kazakhstan plans to manufacture 494 types of medicines through eight major investment projects worth a combined $862 million, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova announced on 3 November, local media reported.
Dengue fever has killed more people in Bangladesh this year than in the whole of 2025, with October the deadliest month so far, data from Bangladesh's Health Ministry shows.
Visitors to Armenia could face temperature screening after a lab worker died from suspected Pneumonic plague in Russia, Yerevan’s Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan told lawmakers on Wednesday, Armenian state news agency Armenpress reported.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment