Suspected Marburg Virus Case in Germany Tests Negative Amid Rwanda Outbreak with 11 Deaths

Oct 3, 2024, 02:36 PM

A suspected case of the Marburg virus, which has a fatality rate of up to 88%, was reported in Germany, leading to the quarantine of a train station platform in Hamburg. The medical student and his companion, who had recently returned from Rwanda where there was a known Marburg outbreak, were isolated at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. However, subsequent tests confirmed that both individuals tested negative for the virus. The Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda has resulted in 37 cases, including 11 deaths and 5 recoveries. The Rwandan government has initiated clinical trials for vaccines and therapeutics to combat the outbreak, with donations of 5,000 vials of remdesivir from Gilead Sciences. The World Health Organization (WHO) has assessed the risk of the Marburg virus outbreak as very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level.