On Dec. 20, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease was declared over by the Government of Rwanda with no new cases reported over the last 42 days after the last patient tested negative for the virus twice, as per the usual protocol for ending these types of outbreaks.

The outbreak, confirmed on September 27, 2024, was the first Marburg Virus Disease outbreak Rwanda has experienced. A total of 66 confirmed cases and 15 deaths were recorded. Almost 80% of the cases were among health workers who were infected while providing clinical care to their colleagues and other patients.

To halt the spread of the virus and save lives, Rwandan health authorities, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, mounted a comprehensive response, with a large range of measures from disease surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control, contact tracing, to clinical care and public awareness. These actions helped to curb the spread of the outbreak, with cases halved between weeks two and three after detection and declining by around 90% thereafter.