Rwanda’s Ministry of Health recorded 8 deaths from the Marburg virus in Kigali, and the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a high risk of infection throughout Africa.
Marburg virus, in the same family as Ebola virus, first appeared in Rwanda, causing 8 deaths out of 26 recorded cases, Rwanda’s Ministry of Health said on October 3. The majority of deaths are medical workers, mainly in the capital Kigali.
On September 30, WHO assessed the risk of this disease outbreak as very high at the national level, high at the regional level and low at the global level.
Marburg virus is spread through direct contact with infected people’s body fluids and contaminated surfaces. Initial symptoms include high fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. After three days, the patient may experience diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. From day 5 to day 7, many patients appeared to have bleeding, in different locations. The average mortality rate is about 50%, ranging from 23% to 90% depending on the virus strain and treatment conditions.
There is currently no vaccine or antiviral medicine specifically for Marburg virus. Symptoms are similar to Ebola such as fever, fatigue, diarrhea and vomiting. In 2023, Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea recorded about 40 deaths due to Marburg. Ghana also had cases in 2022 with two people in the same family dying.
Marburg virus under an electron microscope. Image: The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is a serious, often fatal infectious disease in humans. The virus is named after the city of Marburg, Germany, where the first cases were recorded in 1967. According to WHO, the virus is transmitted from fruit bats to humans, then spreads between people through contact with body fluids. , contaminated surfaces and materials.
In fatal cases, patients usually pass away about 8 to 9 days after the initial symptoms appear. Patients may vomit blood and bleed in the stool, nose, gums and vagina.
Initial outbreaks were linked to experimental work on African green monkeys. Since then, the world has recorded more than 10 major outbreaks, mainly in southern and eastern Africa, with cases reported in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, South Africa , Tanzania, Uganda and most recently Rwanda.
Although there is no specific treatment yet, many therapies and vaccines are being developed to deal with this disease. WHO classifies Marburg virus as a pathogen with the risk of causing the next pandemic, so vaccine development is a top priority. This summer, scientists at Oxford University launched the first human trial of the Marburg vaccine.