The U.S. government has completed an initial shipment of vaccines and therapeutic drugs for Marburg disease to Rwanda on October 4, according to Thierry Roels, the U.S. CDC Country Director in Rwanda, in a statement to Reuters on Saturday. The U.S. is also working closely with international partners and Rwanda’s Ministry of Health to initiate clinical trials aimed at evaluating investigational countermeasures.
Roels indicated that the U.S. is considering further shipments to support the clinical trials but did not disclose the number of doses delivered in the first shipment. Rwanda is grappling with its first-ever outbreak of Marburg, a viral hemorrhagic fever, which was detected in late September. So far, the outbreak has seen 36 reported cases and 11 deaths. The virus has a fatality rate of up to 88%.
Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanziman announced on Thursday that the country is preparing to begin clinical trials for experimental vaccines and treatments. Four vaccine candidates have been reviewed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for potential trials, though only one—produced by the Sabin Vaccine Institute—has demonstrated safety and immune response data from early-stage human trials. The Sabin Institute delivered approximately 700 doses of its vaccine to Rwanda, with the trial focusing on healthcare professionals and other frontline workers.
The Sabin Vaccine Institute has stated that additional vaccine doses may be provided, pending a request from the Rwandan government and approval from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences has donated around 5,000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir to Rwanda Medical Supply for emergency use in the outbreak response.
Symptoms of Marburg disease include high fever, severe headaches, and malaise, followed by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
