U.S. ships Marburg vaccines to Rwanda after 11 die in outbreak

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The United States government completed an initial shipment of vaccine doses and therapeutic drugs for Marburg disease to Rwanda on Oct. 4, Thierry Roels, U.S. CDC Country Director in Rwanda told Reuters on Saturday (October 5, 2024).

The U.S. government is also working closely with international partners and Rwanda’s Ministry of Health on the start of clinical trials to evaluate investigational countermeasures, he said.

Mr. Roels added that the U.S. government was considering additional shipments that can supply the clinical trials, but did not say how many doses had been delivered on Friday.

Rwanda’s first outbreak of the viral hemorrhagic fever was detected in late September, with 36 cases and 11 deaths reported so far. Marburg has a fatality rate as high as 88%.

Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanziman said on Thursday that the country will start clinical trials of experimental vaccines and treatments for the disease.

Four vaccine candidates have been evaluated for potential use in trials by WHO, but only one, made by the Sabin Vaccine Institute non-profit, has data from early-stage human trials showing it is safe and led to an immune response. Further testing of the vaccines outside of outbreak settings is not possible because of the risks involved.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute said on Saturday it had delivered around 700 doses of its vaccine to Rwanda, to be used in a trial targeting frontline workers, including healthcare professionals.

The non-profit institute also said it plans to supply additional vaccines pending a request from the Rwanda government and authorization from U.S. Center for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it would donate about 5,000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir to the Rwanda Medical Supply for emergency use in response to the outbreak.

Marburg symptoms include high fever, severe headaches and malaise within seven days of infection and later severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is transmitted to humans by fruit bats, and then spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.