Rwanda dealing with first outbreak of deadly Marburg virus disease

For the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry is dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola – but unlike Ebola, there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88 per cent.So far, 26 people have gotten sick, 18 are in treatment and eight people have died in the outbreak, according to the health ministry.In addition to sending medical supplies, the World Health Organisation said last weekend that it is deploying a team of seven global experts in hemorrhagic disease to Rwanda who can provide guidance for public health experts on the ground.An electron microscopic image of an isolate of Marburg virus. (Supplied/Frederick Murphy)The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday that it is also sending experts to Rwanda to help support testing and contact-tracing efforts.There are no cases of Marburg in the US, and the risk to Americans with this outbreak is…