The Marburg virus has been identified in Rwanda, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday. The Rwandan Ministry of Health had already announced several contaminations on September 27. Two days later, on September 29, 26 cases were confirmed. Of those infected, eight died.
Seven of the country’s 30 districts are affected. Nearly 70% of infected people work in one of the two health establishments in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where the virus is circulating. Infected people are being treated in hospital and around 300 people who have been in contact with them are being followed up through contact tracing. L
Rwanda and the WHO are currently investigating the origin of the infection. This is the first spread of the Marburg virus in the country. Last year, Equatorial Guinea declared an outbreak of the virus, which was previously also present in Tanzania.
Marburg virus is a rare but highly contagious pathogen that occurs mainly in central and eastern Africa. The disease is transmitted to humans by bats and is spread by direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or via surfaces. Symptoms include high fever, severe vomiting and blood in the stool. The infection, similar to the Ebola virus, is fatal in most cases. There is no vaccine to combat it.
