Toll in Rwanda Marburg outbreak rises to 11

KIGALI

Five more people in Rwanda have died of the deadly Ebola-like Marburg disease, bringing the number of fatalities to 11, the health ministry said late on Oct. 1.

With a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, the highly infectious hemorrhagic fever is often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

Some 29 people have been confirmed to have contracted the disease since the start of the outbreak on Sept. 27, Rwanda's Health Ministry said in an update.

Nineteen of them were in isolation and receiving treatment across the country.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Oct. 1 that most of the cases were of healthcare workers and more than 290 contacts had been traced.

Marburg is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes Ebola, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa.

The virus is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.

Rwanda has ruled out enforcing a lockdown to fight the virus. Instead, people have been urged to avoid body contact.

There are currently no vaccines or antiviral treatments, but potential treatments, including blood products, immune and drug therapies, as well as early candidate vaccines, are being evaluated.