Africa’s Great Lakes : time to fight two pandemics

Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are battling Mpox while Rwanda is doing everything it can to contain the spread of the deadly Marburg virus, while avoiding Mpox. All three countries can count on the WHO (World Health Organization) which is taking both pandemics seriously.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Rwanda

The Rwandan Ministry of Health said the East African country has started vaccinating its citizens against the highly contagious Marburg virus, in a bid to curb the spread of an outbreak that has killed more than 10 people since its outbreak was announced on September 27.

As of Sunday, September 6, the country had reported 46 confirmed cases of the Ebola-like disease, including 29 under medical care.

Health authorities have identified at least 400 people who have been in contact with confirmed Marburg cases and have intensified contact tracing and testing.

Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana urged Rwandans to participate in the vaccination exercise, saying vaccines are safe, adding that the same vaccines had already been used in Uganda and Kenya. He reassured that they had proven to be of great help.

“We have established testing laboratories in every province to ensure that people have access to timely testing and results. We encourage people with symptoms to call the 114 helpline as we have deployed enough personnel and resources to assist them,” Minister Nsanzimana told media in the capital Kigali.

Rwandans have been urged to avoid physical contact and strict measures have been taken, including the suspension of visits to hospitals and schools.

Walks at home are not allowed in the event of a death linked to Marburg.

Launch of the vaccination campaign against the highly contagious Marburg virus in Rwanda, photo credit : the X account of the Rwandan Ministry of Health

At a press conference on Sunday, the Health Minister said the vaccination exercise would begin immediately, targeting health workers and emergency responders as well as people who had contact with confirmed cases in the first phase.

He said the country had received 700 doses of a vaccine under investigation from the US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute.

“In response to a request from the Government of Rwanda and the Ministry of Health to support its response to the Marburg outbreak, we provided an initial shipment of 700 doses of the experimental Marburg vaccine to be used in a trial targeting frontline workers. We dispatched the shipment within 7 days of the first communication for assistance. We have entered into a clinical trial agreement with the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC),” the Sabin Vaccine Institute announced on its X account (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

Mr. Nsanzimana said authorities were investigating the origin of the deadly hemorrhagic fever, which the World Health Organization says has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Last month, the U.S. Embassy in Kigali urged its staff to work remotely and avoid visiting its offices. Most of those affected are health care workers in seven of the country’s 30 districts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that symptoms of Marburg, with a mortality rate of 88%, include fever, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and, in some cases, death from extreme blood loss.

A man suffering from Mpox in isolation in the commercial capital Bujumbura in Burundi (SOS Médias Burundi)

The WHO reassures that it is stepping up its support and would work with the Government of Rwanda to stop the spread of the virus and protect those at risk.

According to the WHO, outbreaks and individual cases have been reported in the past in Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Angola, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana.

DRC

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities have launched the vaccination campaign against Mpox. It started in the tourist city of Goma, capital of North Kivu in eastern Congo. It was last Saturday, October 5. The first person to be vaccinated is a doctor posted in Goma. The next day, the activity continued in the Miti-Murhesa health zone located north of the city of Bukavu, in the province of South Kivu, still in eastern Congo. In both provinces, it was the chief of staff of the Minister of Health, Dr. Muboyayi Tshikaya Romain, who launched the vaccination campaign. The first targets are health providers and women of joy, explained Dr. Muboyayi.

“I myself have already taken this vaccine in order to show people that it is not harmful to health as some say. I encourage people to get vaccinated to prevent themselves from this epidemic,” said Dr. Masiya Charles, medical director of the Saint Joseph hospital in Kamanyola, located in South Kivu not far from Burundi.

The need for vaccines is in the millions in the DRC, but the vast country in Central Africa has so far received only a little over 265,000 doses of vaccine.

Congo currently has more than 30,000 suspected cases of Mpox and nearly 990 deaths.

South Kivu is the epicenter of the disease. At least 8,800 cases have been discovered there, including 45 deaths. Last September, the DRC received 265,000 vaccines donated by the European Union and the United States. These are doses from the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic. They are only approved for use in adults.

Congolese authorities have already approached Japan to obtain vaccines acceptable for children.

866 deaths since the beginning of the year

In Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda in particular, nearly 35,000 cases have been recorded since January. According to a latest report dated October 3, 866 patients have died from Mpox. The Africa CDC health agency reveals that “the epidemic is not under control on the continent”.

Launch of the vaccination campaign against Mpox in Kamanyola, October 6, 2024 (SOS Médias Burundi)

The resurgence of Mpox in Africa and the appearance of a new variant (clade 1b) prompted the WHO to trigger its highest level of global alert last August. This new variant was discovered in the DRC, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, according to Africa CDC.

Rwanda, which is facing the highly contagious Marburg virus, began vaccinating its residents on September 17.

Burundi

Nearly 60% of patients are children, according to the UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. Burundian Minister Lyduine Baradahana is pleased that no deaths have been recorded so far, in addition to the aid promised by the UNICEF. But Dr. Baradahana warns : “the disease continues to spread and each person must strive to observe preventive measures.”

With the appearance of the deadly Marburg virus in neighboring Rwanda, Burundian authorities are keen to reassure the population about the country’s ability to fight its spread.

On September 28, the day after the first cases were reported in Rwanda, Minister Baradahana visited the Gihungwe epidemic management center in Bubanza province (west of the country). She wanted to assess the center’s capacities in terms of infrastructure, human resources and equipment, in the event of a Marburg case being discovered. And on October 3, she visited two hospitals in Muyinga (northeast) and on the border with Tanzania, in Kobero, a border used by Burundian passengers to go to Rwanda, land borders with Rwanda having been closed since January 2024.

Burundi speaks of a very high threat with the discovery of the deadly Marburg virus in Rwanda and calls on health and administration officials in the border regions with Rwanda to intensify surveillance.

According to a report by the health agency Africa CDC, the Mpox pandemic is currently present in 16 countries in Africa.

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A case treatment center- Mpox in the commercial city Bujumbura in Burundi (SOS Media Burundi)