The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national public health agency of the United States, issued a Level 3 travel advisory on Monday, October 7, 2024, urging its citizens to reconsider nonessential travel to Rwanda due to the Marburg outbreak.
Speaking during a virtual meeting attended by the Rwandan Health Minister and journalists on Thursday, October 10, 2024, Dr. Kaseya said that decisions during the ongoing outbreak must be guided by scientific facts to avoid spreading panic.
'The decision taken by the US government was not fair, and we believe this is not the treatment that Rwanda and Africa deserve,' he stated, adding that Rwanda had implemented satisfactory measures to contain the spread of the disease.
'By issuing a Level 3 advisory, we are creating panicâ€"an unnecessary panicâ€"in Rwanda, in other regions, in neighbouring countries, and even globally,' he protested.
Dr. Kaseya noted that US authorities had committed to consulting the Africa CDC before taking such steps in the future.
'We think this is disrespectful to us. I conveyed this clear message to US senior officials. But more importantly, we agreed on a way forward. I believe I received their clear commitment that in the future they will not make such decisions again without consulting us,' he added.
Besides the Level 3 travel advisory, the US government also recently suspended in-person services at its embassy offices in Kigali, allowing its staff to work from home following the confirmation of Marburg cases in Rwanda. The suspended services include American Citizen Services and visa interviews.
In the Thursday briefing, Minister Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana stated that Rwanda is making significant progress in vaccination efforts and monitoring to prevent the further spread of the outbreak.
"So far, we've already vaccinated more than 200 people. Others are still being vaccinated. We initially received 700 doses for the most at-risk groups. We expect this to protect those in treatment centers, as well as departments in the hospitals most affected, particularly healthcare workers and contacts of confirmed positive cases, which is known as ring vaccination,' the minister stated.
As of Thursday, October 10, 2024, Rwanda has confirmed 58 cases, 13 deaths, and 12 recoveries.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/africa-cdc-boss-condemns-us-travel-notice-to-rwanda-over-marburg
