Knowledge Rwanda begins clinical trial on deadly Marburg virus

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Rwanda has started the world's first clinical trial for the treatment of the Marburg virus. The drug Remdesivir, which was used to treat Covid-19, is being used.

This is encouraging news from Rwanda, explained WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday. According to the local Ministry of Health, up to 58 infections with the life-threatening Marburg virus had been confirmed in Rwanda between the end of September and last Thursday. 13 people have died as a result. On Thursday, the health authorities of the African Union declared that the outbreak had been brought under control.

The Marburg virus comes from the same family of pathogens as the Ebola virus. It spreads among humans through close contact or direct contact with bodily fluids. The symptoms of Marburg disease include high fever and severe headaches, followed later by diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding.

According to the WHO, the mortality rate is 88 percent

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the mortality rate is up to 88 percent. To date, there are no officially recognized vaccinations or antiviral treatments.

At the beginning of October, two people in Hamburg were admitted to hospital for examination on suspicion of being infected with the highly dangerous virus. However, the suspicion was not confirmed. The two had flown by plane from Rwanda to Frankfurt and traveled from there by train to Hamburg. One of them had reportedly worked in a hospital in the East African country as part of his medical studies, where patients infected with the Marburg virus were also treated.

SDA