STAT A large outbreak of Marburg virus in Rwanda is drawing international concern about the possibility of spread beyond the country’s borders.
The number of cases detected so far, 27, already makes the outbreak one of the biggest involving Marburg on record. Nine of those individuals have died. There are currently no licensed vaccines to combat the disease. Most of the cases detected to date — over 70% — have been in health professionals who work in two hospitals in the capital city, Kigali, which is home to 1.7 million people. Kigali is also a regional and international travel hub; flights from the city go to destinations in about 20 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
In a statement issued late Monday, the World Health Organization categorized the risk of spread to neighboring countries as high. It also suggested there is a risk of spread beyond East Africa.
In fact, one contact of a suspected case — the person currently thought to be the first case, or index case, in this outbreak — did travel to another country, the WHO said. Its statement did not identify the country, but a slide mapping what is known about the chains of transmission that was posted on the social media site X named it as Belgium. Sources told STAT that Belgian authorities were notified of the possibility that the individual may have been in contact with a case. The WHO’s statement said “appropriate response measures have been implemented” by the country in question.