Director General
of the United Nations Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
arrived in Rwanda on a visit to see the measures aimed at suppressing the
Marburg epidemic.
Through his
website X on October 18, 2024, Dr. Tedros thanked the Minister of Health, Dr.
Nsanzimana Sabin, who hosted him, said that he was brought to see the measures
to deal with Marburg and to show the cooperation of the WHO.
"I am ready
to meet with health workers, my colleagues and government officials, as we
continue our close cooperation in stopping the spread [of Marburg]," he
said.
Since Marburg
appeared in Rwanda, WHO and especially Dr. Tedros, who led it, did not stop
saying that they will continue to cooperate with Rwanda in dealing with it.
In September, he
said that the organization will cooperate with Rwanda in dealing with this
epidemic in general, so that it can be detected early.
He said,
"The Ministry of Health has announced that there are Marburg patients. WHO
will continue to increase assistance and work with the Government of Rwanda to
stop the spread of this virus and protect the population at risk."
It is at a time
in the past few days after the countries including the United States of America
had begun to put in place strict measures to leave Rwanda, he said that it was
not necessary to put in place measures to prevent travel or reduce business activities
between Rwanda and other countries. countries, because the Marburg and Mpox
epidemics have been prevented from spreading in the country.
Dr. Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Based on the evaluation of Mpox and Marburg,
WHO advises that travel and trade restrictions are not necessary."
He said that the
priority is campaigning and working with health agencies in order to better
deal with this epidemic in general.
Regarding
Marburg, the WHO says that "currently, measures to prevent travel and
trade are not productive and are not necessary to control the Marburg epidemic
in Rwanda and may affect the population and the economy."
He added that
these measures could have a negative impact on the speed with which countries
report on outbreaks found in the country, saying, "Strategic measures to
prevent travel and trade may make countries slow to report health information
to other international health authorities, and that is very important in
finding answers."
Rwanda continues
to show that the measures put in place to deal with this epidemic are yielding
results and the Ministry of Health is giving confidence that it may be
eradicated soon.
Symptoms of
Marburg include high fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting blood, bloody
diarrhea and fatigue. It appears between two and 21 days after infection, and
its virus remains on objects for between four and five days.
