Johannesburg — After the world was caught off guard by the Covid-19 pandemicscientists warned that lessons must be learned. Now, two more viral outbreaks are giving health officials sleepless nights.
Rwanda is still grappling with its first outbreak of Marburg virus. A cousin of the Ebola virus, Marburg is one of the deadliest viruses known to science, with a mortality rate of around 88%. According to Rwandan Health Minister Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, 62 cases of Marburg have been confirmed in Rwanda, with 38 recoveries and 15 deaths.
“Nine people remain on treatment, and most of them are improving,” Nsanzimana said during a virtual press briefing on Thursday.
The outbreak was declared on September 27, after health officials realized that the treatment they were giving to people with suspected malaria was not working. By then, some health officials had been infected, Nsanzimana said.
Nsanzimana said on Thursday that Rwanda’s response to Marburg had improved.
“We are seeing a positive trend. This is the third week that new infections have decreased by more than 50% compared to the first two weeks, and on consecutive days this week we have had no new detections,” he said. he said, adding: “In the last seven days, the number of people discharged from treatment centers now exceeds the number of people dying from the virus.”
There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments for Marburg, but several vaccines are in early-stage clinical trials. The Sabin Vaccine Institute, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, delivered 1,800 doses of its single-dose clinical trial vaccine to Rwanda.
To date, 856 people in high-risk groups, including close contacts of known cases and health workers, have received one of these doses.
Strengthened control measures in the United States come into force
Below new measures announced last weekAll travelers scheduled to arrive in the United States on or after October 15, within 21 days of arriving in Rwanda, must ensure they fly directly to John F. Kennedy, Chicago O’Hare, or Washington-Dulles International Airports from New York for immediate better health. screening.
“The risk of Marburg in the United States remains low, however, these actions are being taken with an abundance of caution given the ongoing outbreak in Rwanda,” CDC spokesperson David Daigle said in making the announcement measurements on October 7.
Passengers who have recently traveled to Rwanda will have their temperature checked upon arrival at one of three designated U.S. airports and should expect to answer questions about symptoms and potential exposure to the virus in designated screening areas.
The CDC said passengers who pass screening but then experience a fever, chills, headache or other symptoms commonly associated with the illness should immediately isolate themselves from others and seek medical attention, ideally notifying the health establishment in advance of their situation.
Rwanda’s health minister said teams were working to trace infection routes in the country and health workers had implemented “testing for all travelers both at Kigali International Airport and at all land borders to ensure we protect everyone in Rwanda and beyond, as this virus must be contained quickly to avoid spiraling out of control. »
Marburg hemorrhagic fever is spread through contact with bodily fluids – saliva, semen, urine and sweat. The fact that it requires close proximity to the propagation facilitates its containment once detected. The virus is not airborne. Initially, it presents like many other viruses, with common symptoms including headache and fever. If left untreated, this can develop into nausea, diarrhea, and bleeding from the gums, nose, and other orifices.
The Marburg and Ebola viruses are commonly found in fruit bats. They can be transmitted to humans through a bite or by eating infected bats.
Nsanzimana said once Rwanda eliminated its current cases and recorded no deaths for several days, it would be able to step back and contribute to research to prevent future outbreaks.
“We will not drop our weapons because it is an alert,” he said. “What happened in Marburg, Rwanda can happen at any time and anywhere in the world.”
Why deadly epidemics are becoming more and more frequent
CBS News traveled with researchers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo just before the COVID outbreak, and scientists said deforestation and climate change were increasing the number of contacts between humans and animals, which in turn increase the number of deadly viral outbreaks in human populations.
Marburg and Ebola appeared rarely, with outbreaks occurring about once a decade. Last year alone, Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania both faced outbreaks of Marburg, as did Ghana in 2022.
A Marburg outbreak can be declared over if no new cases are reported for a period of at least 21 days – the incubation period of the virus, according to Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya.
In addition to the vaccines being tested, Rwandan doctors have also tested the antiviral drug Remdesivir, to see if it works as a treatment for Marburg.
Mpox continues to spread in Africa
While Marburg is certainly the most concerning virus currently facing African health officials, another disease continues to quietly spread across the continent.
Over the past week, Zambia and Zimbabwe reported their first cases of the mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox.
The World Health Organization declared mpox as a global public health emergency in August for the second time in two years.
Health officials in the 17 countries where cases have already been confirmed are increasingly concerned about a new variant called Clade 1b, which is believed to spread more easily through close personal contact than previous strains.
“Mpox is getting out of control,” Kaseya of the Africa CDC warned Thursday. “If we don’t act, many more than the 1,100 people who have died now will.”
More than 900 Africans, mostly children, have died from mpox so far this year, with the Democratic Republic of Congo currently the epicenter of the outbreak. Global smallpox has plagued Congo and neighboring countries for several decades, but Kaseye said the total number of cases is up 380% from 2023, “which is huge.”
Scientists say the precipitous increase in cases is largely due to the new variant. This strain has not yet appeared in the United States, but experts say it is likely only a matter of time.
GLODY MURHABAZI/AFP/Getty
Kaseya said the Africa CDC needs about 10 million doses and $600 million to contain the outbreak, but African officials say the soaring price of the mpox vaccine and hoarding by rich, developed countries have delayed the response and allowed the virus to spread.
“We always talk about commitments made [by the international community]and we hope to finalize our commitments in terms of concrete money, tools and vaccines for our countries,” Kaseya said during the briefing with Nsanzimana and other officials.
Health officials in Congo were also slow to seek help because the vaccine had not been tested in Africa or approved, at the time, by the WHO.
Kaseya said there were 42,238 cases of mpox reported across the continent, of which 8,113 were confirmed. In the last week alone, 50 deaths and 3,051 new cases were reported.
Smallpox is related to smallpox, and long-approved smallpox vaccines might have offered some protection to children if their administration had not been discontinued after the WHO deemed the disease no longer a serious threat. threat to public health in the late 1970s.
The DRC and other countries stopped administering vaccines early in the following decade. Scientists believe that lack of immunity is one of the main reasons why the current epidemic is hitting children so hard, with the highest number of cases and the highest number of deaths.
While Zambia and Zimbabwe reported their first cases in recent days, 18 countries are now experiencing mpox outbreaks.
Meanwhile, Uganda reported two new cases at a prison where staff initially thought inmates had chickenpox, until tests confirmed it was mpox. This allowed the facility’s 1,874 inmates to have close contact.
“Prisons and displaced people [internally displaced people] in eastern DRC, represent a major challenge,” Kaseya said, warning that “countries need a vaccination plan immediately.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have already started administering vaccines, and Nigeria plans to start on October 22.
“We do not want all African countries to be affected,” Kaseya said, calling on the world to “step up efforts.”
Sarah Carter
