President Paul Kagame met with Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (AfricaCDC) to discuss Rwanda’s preparedness and collaboration with Africa CDC in containing the spread of the Marburg virus.
“They also exchanged various strategies to help enhance disease prevention as well as building increased capacity for manufacturing vaccines and medical kits on the continent,” the Office of the President posted on X on Friday, October 11.
Director-General of Africa-CDC Dr. Jean Kaseya has said that Rwanda has almost zero risk of exporting the Marburg outbreak, thanks to a number of serious measures put in place.
“What I saw in Rwanda is almost zero risk. I say ‘almost’ because we cannot say (it is) 100 percent. But I can say (it is) 95 percent sure that there is zero risk for Rwanda to spread the disease outside,” he said during an online press conference on Thursday, October 10.
As of Thursday, October 10, there have been a total of 58 confirmed cases of the Marburg virus, with 30 people still in isolation and receiving treatment, 15 people recovered from the virus, and 13 people have passed away since the outbreak.
According to the Health Ministry, “Since the announcement of the outbreak, all new confirmed cases have been within the hospital cluster in Kigali and their contacts, and all are under isolation and treatment.”
Rwanda secured 700 doses of the Marburg vaccine from the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and vaccination for frontline responders commenced on October 7, 2014, ensuring their readiness and safety with 346 vaccine doses administered.
