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08-10-2024
KIGALI: Rwanda has said it will begin vaccine trials for the fatal Marburg virus, which has already killed at least 12 people in the country most of them health workers.
The east African country has received 700 doses of the vaccine from the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a US-based non-profit organization.
Those most at risk, like doctors, and those who have come in contact with Marburg patients, will be the initial target for the vaccine, according to Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana
The highly-infectious disease is similar to Ebola, with symptoms including fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss.
There have been at least 46 cases in Rwanda, according to the health ministry. This is the first time the virus has been found in the country and the source is still unknown.
Nsanzimana said “people should not worry” about health concerns about the vaccine as trials had already been held in Kenya and Uganda.
The Marburg vaccine has only been tested in adults aged 18 and older, with no current plans to conduct trials in children.
The health minister said there were plans to order more doses.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), on average, the Marburg virus kills half of the people it infects. Previous outbreaks were known to have killed between 24% and 88% of those infected.
Rwandan authorities have restricted funeral sizes for victims of the virus in an effort to curb it.
Rwanda also plans to introduce travel restrictions along with temperature checks, passenger questionnaires and hand-sanitizing stations at departure points.
The Marburg virus is transmitted to humans from fruit bats and then through contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals.
Neighboring Tanzania reported an outbreak in 2023. Three people died in Uganda in 2017.
Rwandan authorities have restricted funeral sizes for victims of Marburg virus in an effort to curb an outbreak of the highly contagious disease.
Eight people have died during Rwanda’s first outbreak of the virus, which was confirmed on Friday by the nation’s health ministry.
Marburg, with a fatality rate of up to 88%, is from the same virus family as Ebola. It spreads to humans from fruit bats and then through contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals.
In new guidelines to halt the spread of Marburg, the health ministry said no more than 50 people should attend the funeral of a person who died from the disease.
“Normal business and other activities” can continue in the East African country, said the advisory published on Sunday evening.
However, it also urged the public to avoid close contact with “symptomatic individuals”. The ministry listed symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The virus can cause death through extreme blood loss.
The health ministry’s guidelines said hospital patients would not be permitted visitors for the next 14 days.
Patients will also only be allowed one caregiver at a time, the guidelines said.
In numerous developing countries, patients’ loved ones perform basic care tasks such as washing and feeding – that are typically performed by a nurse in other countries. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
