Rwanda to test vaccine against Marburg virus outbreak that has killed 12 people

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwandan health authorities will begin research into vaccines against hemorrhagic fever caused by Marburg virus, they announced Sunday, as part of efforts to end an outbreak that has killed 12 people.

Rwanda, which has received 700 doses of the vaccine for testing from the US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute, will administer it to health care workers and emergency responders, as well as people who have been in contact with confirmed cases, according to the Health Ministry.

Health Minister Sabine Nsanzimana told reporters on Sunday that the Rwanda Biomedical Center had received a shipment of vaccines.

There is no approved treatment or vaccine for Marburg virus.

Like Ebola, it is believed to have originated in fruit bats and is spread between people through close contact with the body fluids of infected people or surfaces such as contaminated sheets. Without treatment, it can be fatal in 88% of people affected.

In a statement, the Sabin Vaccine Institute said it had “reached a clinical trial agreement with the Rwanda Biomedical Center, the study sponsor, to provide investigational doses” for the study.

The Rwanda agreement says 46 cases have been confirmed, 29 of them in isolation. Health authorities have identified at least 400 people who have been in contact with confirmed cases of the virus.

Rwanda declared an outbreak of the virus on September 27 and announced six deaths the next day. Authorities said at the time that the first cases of the disease were found among patients at medical centers. There is still no confirmation of the origin of the outbreak.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from severe blood loss.

In Rwanda, the majority of cases are health workers in six of the country’s 30 districts. Some of the patients live in areas bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burungi, Uganda and Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization.

Rwandans have been urged to avoid physical contact to stop the spread. The tough measures include suspending attendance at schools and hospitals and limiting the number of people attending funerals of virus victims. Reveille at home is not permitted in the event of a death associated with the Marburg virus.

The US Embassy in Kigali urged its staff to work from home and avoid visiting offices.

According to the WHO, isolated cases and outbreaks of Marburg have occurred in the past in Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Ghana.

The virus was identified in 1967 after causing simultaneous outbreaks in laboratories in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Serbia. Seven people died after contracting the virus during studies on monkeys.