Rwanda Begins Clinical Therapies and Vaccine Trials for Deadly Marburg Disease
Microscopic view of microbes illustrating environmental stress in the Serengeti.
Rwanda is conducting trials for vaccines and therapies to combat the Marburg virus amid a recent outbreak, according to Assistant Health Minister Yvan Butera. The virus, from the same family as Ebola, causes severe symptoms such as headaches, vomiting, and muscle pain. It has a fatality rate of up to 88%, with the government reporting 36 confirmed cases so far. Currently, 410 people who had contact with the infected individuals are under observation, while five other suspected cases have tested negative but are awaiting further results. The disease was first detected in 1967 in the German city of Marburg during an outbreak involving infected monkeys used in research. It has since appeared in several African countries, including Uganda in 2017 and Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea in 2023.
SOURCE: DW