Kigali- Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed his admiration for the level of health care provided by Rwanda to patients who were infected with the Marburg virus. In a joint press conference held with Rwandan Health Minister Dr. Sabine Nsanzimana on Sunday, he praised “the work that Rwanda has done over the years to strengthen its health system and develop the necessary capabilities for critical care and life support.”
Ghebreyesus revealed that the organization recorded what may be the first time “that artificial breathing tubes and resuscitation equipment have been removed from patients infected with the Marburg virus in Africa,” which means a full recovery for those infected who could have died, according to the Director-General of the World Health Organization.
In turn, Rwandan Minister of Health, Dr. Sabine Nsanzimana, announced that his country has not recorded any new cases of infection or deaths from the Marburg virus for at least 5 or 6 days. He added during the press conference in Kigali that this information “is an opportunity to continue tracking each contact case individually before we put a final end to this epidemic.”
Nsanzimana revealed that one of the specialized treatment centers is still treating 3 of the injured, and that they “are showing good signs of recovery that may enable the medical teams to release them from the treatment center soon.”
Nsanzimana confirmed that the country had recorded 15 deaths due to the virus out of the total cases of infection since the discovery of the virus, and said that the majority of them were from medical response teams, and he confirmed that 44 other infected people had fully recovered.
The Minister attributed the increase in recovery cases to the speed of diagnosis and response. According to statistics from the Rwandan Ministry of Health, deaths due to infection do not exceed 24% of all those who were infected.
In September
On September 27 of this year, the Ministry of Health in Rwanda announced the confirmation of the first case of Marburg virus disease. The announcement was made after testing blood samples taken from people showing symptoms, and the results were positive at the time.
According to the World Health Organization, by September 29, a total of 26 confirmed cases had been reported, including 8 deaths. Health workers constituted more than 70% of those infected at that time. Since then, the World Health Organization has confirmed that it is coordinating the response with the government of Rwanda.
Today @WHO DG @DrTedros joined @nsanzimanasabinMinister of Health in #Rwandafor an update on the #Marburg outbreak situation and response:
“Leadership at the top level is essential in any outbreak response and this is what we see here in Rwanda.” pic.twitter.com/0QCbvPuRw6
— WHO Rwanda (@WHORwanda) October 20, 2024
The turn of the third week
In a press conference also attended by scientists specializing in “epidemiology,” the Ministry of Health outlined the course of the first days of discovering and dealing with infections. The Minister of Health said that “the first days were the most complex,” but the course of infections “remained stable during the first three weeks of the spread of Marburg in the country.” .
He added that at the end of the third week, the authorities began to notice “a decrease in infection rates by about 50%,” describing the data as “the best indicator you can see that the outbreak of the disease began to subside by the end of the third week.” The minister confirmed that the infection rate has now decreased by more than 92%.
Genome of the current strain
In the press conference, the minister also spoke about the strain of the virus that is being dealt with in the country, and said that they “found that all strains share a single animal origin, which means that the virus was transmitted from animals to humans only once.” He added that the genetic analysis of the virus (genome) showed that 4 of the strains were identical, which indicates a rapid spread in a short time.
The minister continued, explaining the importance of drawing a genetic map of the virus, saying, “Specialists have found some mutations, but none of them indicate that the virus is spreading more easily or becoming more severe.” He added, “It is interesting that the outbreak strain shares a common ancestor with the strain.” 2014, which shows a limited rate of mutation,” he said, describing it as “a good sign.”
The Ministry of Health stressed through the minister that the competent authorities “continue to analyze clinical data along with genetic results to better understand transmission dynamics.”
In its press conference, the Rwandan Ministry of Health also provided information on how to follow up on those who have recovered from the infection, as the authorities remain in contact with those who have recovered and any people from their families or close surroundings.
Abakize indwara iterwa na virus ya Marburg ndetse n’imiryango yabuze ababo tubabe hafi kandi dukomeze kubashyigikira.#DutsindeMarburg pic.twitter.com/ieuyTbtH5B
— Ministry of Health | Rwanda (@RwandaHealth) October 20, 2024
Country outlets
At the level of the country’s land, sea and air ports, the authorities confirmed continuing to implement preventive measures to ensure that the outbreak is kept under control and to eliminate the spread of the disease.
The Minister of Health said that the authorities are conducting checks at all entry points, especially at the capital’s international airport, “to ensure that no mistake is made about possible infections or suspicion of the presence of infections.”
The minister concluded by saying that all the positive indicators “do not mean the end of Marburg in the country, but it is a big step forward towards stopping this outbreak.”
In turn, the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization stressed from the capital, Kigali, that the organization “still advises against imposing restrictions on travel or trade because it is an unnecessary step that could harm Rwanda’s economy” and thanked the countries that responded to the WHO’s call.