Rwanda declared the Marburg Virus Disease outbreak over on Friday, December 20, after 42 days since the last patient was discharged.

The country confirmed its first-ever outbreak of the infectious disease on September 27. The disease claimed 15 lives out of 66 reported cases.

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"Today, we come to the end of Marburg outbreak in Rwanda. Marburg is over," said the Minister of Health, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, at a briefing attended by the media, the World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, and members of the diplomatic corps in Kigali.

"It took us 42 days since the last patient tested negative and was discharged from treatment centre. We've been counting days. Last night, at midnight exactly, was the end of the 42nd day. Therefore, we declare Marburg over in Rwanda."

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Genomic sequencing of the Marburg virus in Rwanda indicated that it was transmitted from fruit bats to humans in a cave where mining activities had been taking place.

No deaths had been reported since October 15. The outbreak in Rwanda has a fatality rate of 22.7 per cent.

The Minister emphasised the need for continued vigilance despite the end of the outbreak.

"We believe it's not completely over because we still face risks, especially from bats," Dr Nsanzimana said.

"We are continuing to build new strategies, form new teams, and adopt advanced technologies to track their movements, understand their behaviour, and monitor who is interacting with them."

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He added: "There are many things we need to do moving forward, including enhancing surveillance and building our capabilities to respond to such health challenges."

He also emphasised the importance of supporting survivors and addressing societal stigma they may face.