٠٠:٠٤:٥١Rwanda's Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana announced a decline on infections and deaths from the Marburg virus since its outbreak, during a press conference in Kigali on Sunday.
"We wish this continues but even if we had one case, for us is an opportunity to continue to trace every single contact and case before we put a final end to this outbreak," he said.
He added that in comparison to data collected in the first two weeks of the outbreak, the country's health ministry was observing an estimated 92 percent decrease in infections in its third week.
"You can see that an outbreak is dying when you start to see that 50 percent decline between week one and week two," he explained. "We saw that at week three which brought a lot of hope that this is going to be contained quickly."
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Rwanda's response to the Marburg outbreak, saying he was pleased to see how the government was investing in the production of local vaccines.
"We hope this strategic investment will address the equity problems we faced in [the times of] COVID-19," he said.
New Marburg cases have been declining in Rwanda following a surge and several deaths recorded earlier this month. The epidemic of the Marburg virus, similar to Ebola, is being curbed by a first experimental vaccine as well as a clinical trial of a treatment for patients.
Up to 80 percent of those infected with the virus are healthcare workers who were in contact with infected people, according to a WHO report.
The report adds that 62 confirmed cases of the disease have been reported in the country since September 27, of which 15 were fatal, while 44 people have recovered.
The WHO still considers the risk of further spreading of the Marburg virus in Rwanda to be very high, but low on a global scale.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention declared last week that the outbreak is now under control.
'Final end to this outbreak' - HealthMin says Rwanda will 'continue to trace every single contact' as infections, deaths from Marburg virus decline
Rwanda's Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana announced a decline on infections and deaths from the Marburg virus since its outbreak, during a press conference in Kigali on Sunday.
"We wish this continues but even if we had one case, for us is an opportunity to continue to trace every single contact and case before we put a final end to this outbreak," he said.
He added that in comparison to data collected in the first two weeks of the outbreak, the country's health ministry was observing an estimated 92 percent decrease in infections in its third week.
"You can see that an outbreak is dying when you start to see that 50 percent decline between week one and week two," he explained. "We saw that at week three which brought a lot of hope that this is going to be contained quickly."
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Rwanda's response to the Marburg outbreak, saying he was pleased to see how the government was investing in the production of local vaccines.
"We hope this strategic investment will address the equity problems we faced in [the times of] COVID-19," he said.
New Marburg cases have been declining in Rwanda following a surge and several deaths recorded earlier this month. The epidemic of the Marburg virus, similar to Ebola, is being curbed by a first experimental vaccine as well as a clinical trial of a treatment for patients.
Up to 80 percent of those infected with the virus are healthcare workers who were in contact with infected people, according to a WHO report.
The report adds that 62 confirmed cases of the disease have been reported in the country since September 27, of which 15 were fatal, while 44 people have recovered.
The WHO still considers the risk of further spreading of the Marburg virus in Rwanda to be very high, but low on a global scale.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention declared last week that the outbreak is now under control.
Rwanda's Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana announced a decline on infections and deaths from the Marburg virus since its outbreak, during a press conference in Kigali on Sunday.
"We wish this continues but even if we had one case, for us is an opportunity to continue to trace every single contact and case before we put a final end to this outbreak," he said.
He added that in comparison to data collected in the first two weeks of the outbreak, the country's health ministry was observing an estimated 92 percent decrease in infections in its third week.
"You can see that an outbreak is dying when you start to see that 50 percent decline between week one and week two," he explained. "We saw that at week three which brought a lot of hope that this is going to be contained quickly."
Meanwhile, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended Rwanda's response to the Marburg outbreak, saying he was pleased to see how the government was investing in the production of local vaccines.
"We hope this strategic investment will address the equity problems we faced in [the times of] COVID-19," he said.
New Marburg cases have been declining in Rwanda following a surge and several deaths recorded earlier this month. The epidemic of the Marburg virus, similar to Ebola, is being curbed by a first experimental vaccine as well as a clinical trial of a treatment for patients.
Up to 80 percent of those infected with the virus are healthcare workers who were in contact with infected people, according to a WHO report.
The report adds that 62 confirmed cases of the disease have been reported in the country since September 27, of which 15 were fatal, while 44 people have recovered.
The WHO still considers the risk of further spreading of the Marburg virus in Rwanda to be very high, but low on a global scale.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention declared last week that the outbreak is now under control.