The Rwandan government has denied claims that it concealed information about the outbreak of the Marburg virus in the country, emphasizing that the information was made public as soon as it was received.
Rwanda's Health Minister, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, made the remarks during a virtual session with journalists attended by the Director-General of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr. Jean Kaseya, on Thursday, October 10, 2024.
During the briefing, Minister Nsanzimana was asked about reports suggesting that Rwanda had initially concealed the discovery of individuals infected with the virus in the country. In response, the minister stated that the claims were unfounded.
"I would like to clarify that the information suggesting these tests were done earlier and not communicated is not true. The truth is that the tests were conducted on September 26, confirmed the same night, and announced publicly on the 27th. Everything happened within 24 hours, and the process followed international protocol guidelines. So, this is the fact and the truth, just as was done in previous outbreaks," the minister explained.
He added that Rwanda is currently investigating the source of Rwanda's first-ever Marburg outbreak which was confirmed on September 27, 2024.
"The process of tracing the origins of the first patient and the virus is still ongoing. In the next few days, we will complete this investigation, along with additional testing such as ELISA and serology. We are combining multiple efforts, including collaboration between One Health teams, epidemiologists, and veterinarians," he said.
The minister also highlighted Rwanda's 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, and more are 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 healthcare workers in the affected hospital departments, and contacts of confirmed positive cases, in a strategy known as ring vaccination," he stated.
Dr. Nsanzimana further mentioned that, despite the outbreak, various activities, including meetings, will not be disrupted.
"There are ongoing meetings; for instance, yesterday, I was with the Director-General of Africa CDC at a major conference called Biashara Africa, as well as several other meetings. We are monitoring the outbreak as people come to Rwanda for these gatherings. Measures have been put in place to monitor individuals infected with the disease who are in two hospitals. We see no reason to avoid travel or suspend meetings," he said.
Rwanda has so far confirmed 58 cases of Marburg, with 13 deaths and 12 recoveries.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
