NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 12:36
Six people have died in Rwanda from the Marburg virus. Twenty others have also been infected with it since the outbreak, the Minister of Health reports.
Most victims are people who work in healthcare, especially in the intensive care units of hospitals. The source of the contamination has not yet been found.
The Marburg virus is a rare, but highly contagious and deadly virus. The chance of death is almost 90 percent. It is accompanied by sudden fever, headache, vomiting, muscle pain and abdominal pain. At a later stage, heavy bleeding and organ failure occur.
Marburg resembles Ebola and is transmitted to humans by infected bats. People can infect each other through bodily fluids such as blood and saliva. It is the first time that the virus has appeared in Rwanda.
No vaccine
The infected people have been quarantined and are being treated. People who have come into contact with the patients are being monitored. There are more than 160 so far.
Precautions are being taken in all healthcare institutions. The World Health Organization WHO is helping Rwanda to contain the outbreak. Medical supplies will be brought to the capital Kigali in the coming days. There is no vaccine against the virus yet.
Last year, nine people died in Equatorial Guinea after an outbreak of the Marburg virus. Previously there were outbreaks in Ghana and Guinea.
The WHO is helping Rwanda to prevent further spread of the virus:
