Death toll in incurable Marburg virus outbreak reaches 11

Eleven people have died of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Rwanda, health authorities said, as the East African country continues to investigate the cause of an outbreak initially identified among patients at health facilities. According to the latest update from the Rwandan government, there are 36 confirmed cases of the disease that manifests itself like Ebola, 25 of which are isolated.

Rwanda declared the outbreak on September 27 and reported six deaths a day later. Authorities said at the time that the first cases had been detected in patients at health facilities and that an investigation was underway “to determine the origin of the infection.”

Days later, the source remains unclear, fueling fears of infection in the small Central African country. Isolation of patients and their contacts is key to containing the spread of viral hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg.

According to local health authorities, at least 300 people have been identified who have been in contact with people with confirmed Marburg disease, and an unspecified number of them are currently in isolation facilities. Rwandans have been urged to avoid physical contact to contain the spread.

Most of those affected are healthcare workers in six of the country's 30 districts. The US Embassy in Rwanda's capital Kigali has asked its employees to work remotely and avoid office visits.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus is believed to originate from flying foxes and spread between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or with surfaces such as contaminated bed sheets.

Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of those affected. Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from extreme blood loss.

According to the World Health Organization, Marburg outbreaks and isolated cases have been recorded in the past in Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana. The virus was first identified in 1967 after causing simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia.

Seven people died after being exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys.