The Africa CDC (African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) has reported that the current Marburg virus disease (MVD) outbreak in Rwanda is anticipated to come to an end shortly.

As of October 30, Rwanda has not recorded any new MVD-positive cases, with the most recent patient being discharged on November 8, as stated by the CDC in a press briefing. By November 29, Rwanda had confirmed a total of 66 cases and 15 deaths associated with the Marburg outbreak.

Ngashi Ngongo, an epidemiology professor and principal advisor to the Africa CDC director general, highlighted that the critical 42-day countdown to officially announce the end of the outbreak concludes tomorrow.

“This success is largely attributed to the rapid and coordinated actions spearheaded by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Africa CDC and various essential stakeholders,” Ngongo remarked.

As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), “Marburg virus disease, formerly known as Marburg haemorrhagic fever”, is described as “a severe and frequently fatal disease in humans”.

The virus, which initially spreads to humans from fruit bats, transmits through direct human-to-human contact. At present, there are no approved vaccines for MVD. Recent cases of the virus have also emerged in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea, leading to six and thirty-five additional deaths, respectively, in 2023.

Ngongo highlighted the vital importance of national surveillance systems, which facilitate early case identification, enhanced contact tracing, isolation of cases, and expanded treatment facilities, all of which were instrumental in managing the outbreak.

“It’s important to note that these interventions, particularly the high standards of care in treatment facilities, enabled Rwanda to attain one of the lowest case fatality rates (sic) at 22.7%, markedly lower than those observed in previous outbreaks,” Ngongo stated.

Additionally, extensive public awareness campaigns were conducted to educate people on preventive measures as part of the initiative to curtail the virus’s transmission.

Concerns over mpox and unidentified febrile illnesses

Meanwhile, ongoing threats from other illnesses remain a concern for African nations and globally, as stated by Africa CDC.

This includes mpox (previously known as monkeypox), which is currently seeing an increase, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

The WHO defines mpox as a viral disease that “primarily spreads through close contact with an infected person, resulting in painful rashes, swollen lymph nodes, and fever,” which can lead to scarring and further health complications. The disease can also be transmitted from animals to humans.

Typically, transmission happens through contact with bodily fluids, skin lesions or lesions on mucosal membranes, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials.

Since 2022, mpox has proliferated globally, affecting new regions.

In DRC, there have been 53,109 reported mpox cases, with approximately 1,251 deaths linked to the disease. Just this week, 2,632 new cases were recorded, an increase from 2,549 the week before.

Updates on mpox vaccinations

Nonetheless, Ngongo, who also serves as the continental incident manager for Mpox at Africa CDC, emphasized the ongoing progress in vaccination efforts against mpox. Africa CDC has pledged to distribute 10 million doses of the mpox vaccine by the end of 2025.

An update indicated that the second dose vaccination in the DRC commenced on November 28, 2024, with 11,000 individuals vaccinated across Tshopo, Sankuru, and Sud Kivu by December 19.

The Japanese government is poised to send 50,000 vaccine doses to Kinshasa this week, and Japanese experts are currently engaged in discussions with DRC officials about vaccine deployment and addressing logistical challenges, particularly in remote areas.

A Continental mpox Response Intra-Action Review (IAR) was convened by Africa CDC and the WHO in Addis Ababa, concluding on Wednesday. Participating nations included Burundi, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Kenya, Liberia, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa.

The action plan focused on improving resource mobilization, enhancing data management systems, and accelerating vaccination efforts and support for the most affected countries.