Rwanda's Marburg outbreak is under control, Africa's health chief says

KAMPALA, Uganda — An outbreak in Rwanda of the Ebola-like Marburg fever is under control and travel bans targeting the East African country are unnecessary, the head of Africa's top public health agency said Thursday.

Rwanda declared the outbreak on Sept. 27 and has so far reported that 13 people have died.

There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg. Last week, Rwanda received 700 doses of a vaccine under trial from the U.S.-based Sabin Vaccine Institute, for health workers and emergency responders as well as individuals who have been in contact with confirmed cases

According to Jean Kaseya of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of Marburg spreading out of Rwanda is almost zero. He praised Rwanda for what he said was a strong response to the outbreak by a range of government officials.

“The mechanism they put in place even to follow the contacts, no contact can fly out of Rwanda,” he said. “And this is amazing because they are monitoring these contacts on (a) daily basis.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its travel advisory for Rwanda, requiring screening of travelers who have recently been to Rwanda. The updated guidelines urge people to reconsider non-essential travel to Rwanda.

Kaseya said that decision was not respectful as it was made without consulting with the Africa CDC or Rwanda. Rwanda should not “be punished” with advisories prohibiting travel because it is “being transparent” in its reporting of the outbreak, he said.

The total number of confirmed Marburg cases in Rwanda now stands at 58, with 12 recoveries, said Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana, describing the American travel advisory as “not the best thing to do.”

More than 200 people have been vaccinated since the arrival of the trial vaccines, Nsanzimana said.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus is believed to originate in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.

Without treatment, Marburg can be fatal in up to 88% of people who fall ill with the disease. Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.

Most of the sick are health workers in six out of Rwanda's 30 districts, including districts bordering Congo, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization.

Rwandans have been urged to avoid physical contact to help curb the spread. Schools and hospital visits have been suspended and the numbers of people who can attend funerals for Marburg victims have also been restricted. Home vigils are banned if a death is linked to Marburg.

The U.S. Embassy in Kigali has urged its staff to work remotely and avoid visiting offices.

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

The virus was first identified in 1967, after it caused simultaneous outbreaks of disease in laboratories in the German city of Marburg and in Belgrade, Serbia. Seven people died after being exposed to the virus while conducting research on monkeys.