October 01,2024

Rwanda Implements Funeral Restrictions Amid First Marburg Virus Outbreak

Rwandan authorities have restricted funeral attendance to a maximum of 50 people for victims of the Marburg virus in an effort to contain the nation's first outbreak. As of Friday, the virus had claimed eight lives, according to the health ministry.

Marburg, a highly contagious virus from the same family as Ebola, has a fatality rate of up to 88%. It spreads to humans from fruit bats and through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals. Symptoms include fever, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhea, with death often occurring due to extreme blood loss.

In new measures to prevent the virus’s spread, hospital patients will not be allowed visitors for 14 days, and only one caregiver will be permitted at a time. The health ministry has emphasized the importance of avoiding close contact with symptomatic individuals and practicing good hygiene, such as frequent hand washing.

Rwanda is enhancing contact tracing, surveillance, and testing, with approximately 300 people being monitored for potential exposure. Despite the challenges posed by cases in the densely populated capital, Kigali, experts are hopeful that the country's robust public health infrastructure will help manage the outbreak.

This marks Rwanda's first confirmed Marburg outbreak, following reports from neighboring countries like Tanzania and Uganda in recent years.