The outbreak entered its third week on Saturday, October 12, 2024, following the confirmation of the first-ever cases in several health facilities in the country on Friday, September 27, 2024.
So far, the country has recorded 61 cases, 14 deaths, and 18 recoveries from more than 3,300 tests conducted.
The Ministry of Health has been at the forefront of the response, implementing measures to contain the spread of this deadly hemorrhagic fever and protect public health.
The Ministry attributes its success in keeping cases and fatalities low to the establishment of a National Response Workforce. This multisectoral team is tasked with executing strategic objectives to manage and control the outbreak, minimizing transmissions and fatalities while protecting the health and dignity of communities across Rwanda.
According to the Ministry of Health, the National Response Workforce is organized into clusters, including communication, diagnostics, surveillance, evacuation, procurement, case management, strategic information, psychology, resource mobilization, operations, a call center, mobile vaccination clinics, and treatment facilities.
Currently, the response team is engaged in decontaminating infected areas, providing treatment to patients in designated centers, and addressing public concerns through the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) emergency number 114. Additionally, psychological experts on the team are tasked with offering counseling and psychosocial support to survivors and their families, aiding in rapid reintegration and combating stigma.
During a visit to Rwanda on October 8, 2024, the Director General of the Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, commended the country's rapid and effective response to the Marburg outbreak. Dr. Kaseya lauded Rwanda's efforts to contain the virus after touring the Marburg Command Post and meeting with Rwanda's Health Minister, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana.
'Impressed by Rwanda's swift, proactive response. The Africa CDC stands firmly with Rwanda, committed to safeguarding lives and stopping the spread,' Dr. Kaseya stated.
Following his visit to Kigali, Dr. Kaseya also condemned the decision by the United States government to issue a travel advisory against Rwanda over the Marburg virus outbreak, terming it unfair.
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 outbreak.
Dr. Kaseya criticized the advisory, insisting that decisions during the ongoing outbreak must be guided by scientific facts to avoid spreading panic.
'The decision taken by the U.S. government was not fair, and we believe this is not the treatment that Rwanda and Africa deserve,' he stated, reiterating that Rwanda had implemented satisfactory measures to contain the spread of the disease and that the risk of spreading the virus to another country was 'nearly zero.'
Some of the initial steps taken by the government at the onset of the outbreak included heightened contact tracing, suspending hospital visits, banning wakes and home vigils (locally known as Ikiriyo) for Marburg-related deaths, and limiting burials for Marburg deaths to a maximum of 50 people.
Additionally, all healthcare facilities were directed to implement a protocol for receiving and providing services to clients exhibiting symptoms of Marburg virus disease, with strict adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.
In recent days, the government has also rolled out other measures to reduce the risk of exporting cases to other countries, including mandatory symptom screening of all passengers departing from Kigali. Furthermore, the government has initiated the vaccination of public health workers and other high-risk groups.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
