Marburg virus: travel warning as eight people die in Rwanda

A travel warning has been issued due to the outbreak of a highly contagious virus similar to Ebola.

Rwanda says eight people have died from Marburg virus so far, just days after the country declared an outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

So far 26 cases have been confirmed.

Based on the current risk assessment, the WHO advises against any travel and trade restrictions with Rwanda.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates from flying foxes and spreads 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.

Rwanda, a landlocked country in Central Africa, declared an outbreak on Friday and its first six deaths were reported a day later.

The public has been urged to avoid physical contact to limit the spread. In addition, about 300 people who came into contact with confirmed infected people were identified, and an unspecified number of them were placed in isolation facilities.

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Most of those affected are healthcare workers in six of the country's 30 districts.

“Marburg is a rare disease,” Nsanzimana told reporters. “We are increasing contact tracing and testing to stop the spread.”

A WHO spokesman said: “It is important for people with Marburg-like symptoms to seek early supportive care that can improve patient survival.” WHO estimates the risk of this outbreak at the national level to be very high, at the regional level as high and at the global level as low.”

The minister said the cause of the illness was not yet clear. It can take between three days and three weeks for a person infected with the virus to show symptoms, he added.

Symptoms of Marburg virus

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from extreme blood loss.

The World Health Organization will step up its support and work with Rwandan authorities to help stop the spread, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media platform X on Saturday.

The US Embassy in Rwanda's capital Kigali has asked its employees to work remotely and avoid office visits.

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According to the WHO, Marburg outbreaks and individual cases have been recorded in the past in Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana.

The rare virus was first identified in 1967 after it caused 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.

Separately, Rwanda has so far reported six cases of Mpoxen, a disease caused by a virus related to smallpox but typically causing milder symptoms. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox because it was first observed in research monkeys, has also affected several other African countries in what the WHO has described as a global health emergency.

Rwanda launched an MPOX vaccination campaign earlier this month and more vaccines are expected to arrive in the country. Most Mpox cases have so far been reported in neighboring Congo, the epicenter of the disaster.