Rwanda has launched the world’s first clinical trial for a treatment targeting the Marburg virus, a deadly Ebola-like disease that has claimed over a dozen lives in the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.
“Encouraging news from Rwanda,” tweeted WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, applauding the country's efforts in collaboration with the WHO to initiate the trial, which involves a drug previously used to treat COVID-19.
The Marburg outbreak was first detected in Rwanda in late September, and earlier this month, the country rolled out a vaccination campaign with an experimental vaccine. Last Thursday, the African Union’s health agency reported that the outbreak was under control. By that time, Rwanda had recorded 58 cases and 13 deaths, according to Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana, who added that 12 people had recovered and over 2,700 people had been tested.
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Marburg, a virus transmitted to humans from fruit bats, belongs to the filovirus family, which includes Ebola. It causes a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate of up to 88%, often leading to bleeding and organ failure. There are no officially approved vaccines or antiviral treatments for the virus yet, though various therapies, including immune and drug treatments, are under investigation.
The WHO announced that the new clinical trial aims to test the safety and effectiveness of two treatments: Remdesivir, a drug already used against COVID-19, and MBP091, a specialized antibody designed to target the Marburg virus. The trial is the culmination of two years of work by nearly 200 researchers, developers, health officials, and partners from 17 African nations at risk of filovirus outbreaks like Ebola and Marburg.
