In July 2024 Rwanda recorded its first-ever Marburg outbreak in Kigali. The event began among health workers at one of the country’s leading referral hospitals. The health minister, Sabin Nsanzimana, learned about the outbreak while at the UN General Assembly in New York. The WHO says Marburg is highly infectious and on average kills about half of those infected.
Rwanda and the WHO revised traditional outbreak measures that assume disease starts in rural areas. The government set up a command post linking health, local government and security and used a ten-pillar pandemic plan. Cutting bureaucracy and making quick decisions helped institutions act as a single team, and international partners were ready within 24 hours.
Genomic sequencing showed the virus had a common ancestor with a 2014 outbreak and likely came from bats in mining areas. Researchers concluded the event was a single viral introduction. Of 66 confirmed cases, 51 recovered and 15 died. No new cases appeared for 42 consecutive days, and officials declared the outbreak over in November.
Difficult words
- outbreak — A sudden increase in disease cases
- referral hospital — A hospital treating patients sent from othersreferral hospitals
- command post — A place where leaders coordinate emergency response
- bureaucracy — Official rules and procedures in an organization
- genomic sequencing — Laboratory method to read a virus genetic code
- confirmed case — A patient who tested positive for the diseaseconfirmed cases
- recover — To become healthy again after an illnessrecovered
- consecutive — Happening one after another without any break
- pandemic plan — An organized plan for a large disease event
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- The government cut bureaucracy and made quick decisions. Do you think cutting bureaucracy helps during health emergencies? Why or why not?
- International partners were ready within 24 hours. How can quick international help affect an outbreak response?
- The virus likely came from bats in mining areas. What simple actions could local communities take to reduce this risk?
