[KIGALI] The World Health Organization (WHO) is readying emergency supplies to send to Rwanda following the country’s first outbreak of the highly contagious Marburg virus, as authorities attempt to trace people who may be at risk.

Rwanda confirmed 27 cases of the virus, resulting in nine deaths, in an update posted on the social media platform X on Monday (30 September), just days after announcing the outbreak.

The virus, which comes from the same family as Ebola, has a fatality rate of up to 88 per cent. There is currently no authorised vaccine or treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 160 people who came into contact with confirmed cases are being monitored. The WHO said those infected were spread across seven of the country’s 30 districts.

Initial contact tracing and testing has shown that the virus is more prevalent in health facilities, according to updates shared by the Rwandan Health Ministry on Saturday (28 September).

“Most of the victims are health workers, particularly those who work in intensive care units,” said Rwanda’s health minister, Sabin Nsanzimana.

“The Ministry of Health is working with other institutions and partners to trace those who could have come in contact with the patients and the deceased.”

Rwanda confirmed the first cases of the Marburg virus on Friday (27 September), after detecting the infection in health facilities.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency was monitoring the situation closely.

“[WHO] is scaling up its support and will work with the government of Rwanda to stop the spread of the virus and protect people at risk,” Tedros shared in an X post.

The WHO said it was preparing clinical care and infection prevention supplies for delivery from its emergency response hub in Nairobi, Kenya, in the coming days.

According to Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, the WHO is also working to enhance cross-border measures with neighboring countries to prevent further spread.

“We’re rapidly setting all the critical outbreak response aspects in motion to support Rwanda halt the spread of this virus swiftly and effectively,” he said in a WHO statement.

Rwanda made the announcement after news of deaths and images of health workers in Kigali’s main referral hospitals began circulating on social media.

The source of the virus has not yet been confirmed, but Rwanda’s Ministry of Health said investigations were ongoing . It said enhanced preventive measures were being put in place in all health facilities and infected patients were being isolated for treatment.

Visits to patients in hospitals are being restricted, along with attendance at funerals.

The Marburg virus, like Ebola, causes haemorrhagic fever, a severely infectious and life-threatening illness.

People infected typically develop symptoms like high fever and severe headache, followed by diarrhoea and vomiting. More advanced haemorrhagic symptoms, including bleeding and organ failure, usually appear within seven days.

The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with bodily fluids, contaminated surfaces, and materials.

According to the WHO, there are “several promising candidate medical countermeasures” to the Marburg virus in clinical development, but no licensed vaccine is currently available.

The WHO says it is coordinating a group of experts to accelerate the development of vaccines and treatments.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.