Overview

• Rwanda is experiencing its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, with 36 confirmed cases and 11 fatalities reported.
• The Marburg virus, related to Ebola, causes severe hemorrhagic fever and has a high mortality rate, ranging from 24% to 88%.
• Transmission occurs through contact with bodily fluids and is often linked to fruit bats, though the source of the current outbreak remains unidentified.
• Rwanda's health authorities have initiated clinical trials for experimental vaccines, with support from international research groups.
• The World Health Organization assesses the risk of the outbreak as very high nationally, high regionally, but low globally.