While the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda appears to be on the decline, with no new cases in the past several days, mpox continues to spread, now affecting 18 countries and with 3 051 new cases last week.
Since declaring the Marburg outbreak three weeks ago, Rwanda has confirmed 62 cases, of whom 15 have died, 38 have recovered and nine are still receiving treatment, said Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana.
“The case fatality rate overall is 24% and we’ve vaccinated 856 people,” Nsanzimana told an Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) briefing, saying the case fatality rate overall was 24% and that 856 people had been vaccinated.
He said the vaccines were “highly accepted, especially among healthcare providers”. Around 90% of those infected are health workers and their close contacts from the intensive care units of two hospitals that treated the very first patients.
The index patients were co-infected with malaria that slowed the diagnosis of Marburg, which has similar symptoms, reports Health Policy Watch.
Rwanda’s Health Ministry has also tested more than 4 000 people, added Nsanzimana.
He attributed “intense activity on the ground”, ring vaccination (vaccinating the close contacts of people with Marburg) and new antivirals for the turnaround in what is the biggest Marburg outbreak ever recorded.
The virus is from the same family as Ebola and in some outbreaks, has killed more than 80% of those infected.
While the outbreak’s zoonotic origin is still unknown, Nsanzimana said Rwanda will be reporting its findings on the serology and gene sequencing of the virus within a few days.
Mpox cases rising
Mpox cases have now been identified in 18 African countries, and is not yet under control, warned Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya.
Days after Zambia reported its first case of mpox, Zimbabwe has now confirmed its first two cases detected in people who were from or had travelled to Tanzania and South Africa.
Authorities have not identified the variant but said one case was a child who developed symptoms last month after travelling to South Africa, and the other, a 24-year-old man who became ill after travelling to Tanzania.
Both patients are recovering and contact tracing is under way, according to Health Minister Douglas Mombeshora, who said the “situation is under control”.
RFI reports that neighbouring Zambia reported its first case last week in a 32-year-old Tanzanian man who arrived in Zambia in early September, and who developed symptoms in early October.
“Given the patient’s extensive travel history and interactions at multiple points in Zambia, there is heightened risk of local transmission and potential cross-border spread,” the health ministry said.
Despite a continental meeting called in April to warn countries of the risk, mpox cases have risen exponentially: from just under 6 000 to 42 438 suspected mpox cases at present – although only 8 113 have been clinically confirmed.
A rapid diagnosis test is in the pipeline and will transform the testing landscape, said Kaseya.
He flagged the threat to internally displaced people (IDP), particularly in the DRC, and prisoners – both groups characterised by close contact.
In the eastern DRC, conflict has displaced some 2.5m people who are now squashed into camps with limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
DRC vaccination plan includes MSM, transgender people
The DRC’s vaccination campaign started two weeks ago in three provinces and is “moving well”, said Kaseya.
The plan includes men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers. In DRC, same-sex sexual contact is not outlawed as it is in many of the other countries currently affected by mpox – Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“We are clear as Africa CDC…that all human beings have the same rights, and we are supporting countries to plan vaccination for all of them, including men having sex with other men,” said Kaseya.
RFI article – Zimbabwe reports first two mpox cases, after Zambia week before (Open access)
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Most mpox cases can’t be tracked, says Africa CDC
Incorrect diagnoses delayed SA man’s mpox treatment
No need to panic, say SA experts as DRC buckles under mpox spread
Rwanda starts Marburg vaccine trial
Marburg virus kills eight in Rwanda