The United States government completed a first delivery of doses of Marburg disease vaccines and therapeutic drugs to Rwanda on October 4, Thierry Roels, CDC country director in Rwanda, told Reuters on Saturday.
The U.S. government is also working closely with international partners and the Rwandan Ministry of Health on launching clinical trials to evaluate experimental countermeasures, he added.
Roels added that the US government was considering additional deliveries for clinical trials, but he did not say how many doses had been delivered as of Friday.
The first outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever in Rwanda was detected at the end of September, with 36 cases and 11 deaths reported to date. The mortality rate for Marburg disease can be as high as 88%.
Rwandan Health Minister Sabin Nsanziman said on Thursday that the country would begin clinical trials of experimental vaccines and treatments against the disease.
Four vaccine candidates have been evaluated by WHO for potential use in trials, but only one, made by the nonprofit Sabin Vaccine Institute, has trial data preliminary studies in humans showing that it is safe and causes an immune response. It is not possible to further test vaccines outside of an outbreak due to the risks involved.
The Sabin Vaccine Institute said Saturday it had delivered about 700 doses of its vaccine to Rwanda, which will be used in a trial targeting frontline workers, including healthcare professionals.
The nonprofit institute also said it plans to provide additional vaccines pending a request from the Rwandan government and authorization from the U.S. Center for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it would donate about 5,000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir to Rwanda’s medical supply for emergency use in response to the outbreak.
Symptoms of Marburg include high fever, severe headache and malaise within seven days of infection, then nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea. The virus is transmitted to humans by fruit bats and then spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.
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