After mpox outbreak, Africa is under the threat of yet another virus outbreak, this is the Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda. So far, six people have died from the outbreak, confirmed the health minister. Most victims were the healthcare workers in the hospital's intensive care unit. As per reports, 20 cases have been identified since the outbreak was confirmed on Friday.

What Is Marbug Virus?

With the fatality rate of 8% it is the same virus family as Ebola. The main carrier is from fruit bats which spreads to humans then through the contact of bodily fluids of infected individuals, it spreads to others.

Common Signs And Symptoms

The common signs and symptoms of the Marburg virus include fever, pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and in the case of extreme blood loss, death too can happen.

So far, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for the virus. However, treatments like drugs and immune therapy are being developed as per the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Call Of Action

Rwanda says that it has intensified its contact tracing, surveillance and testing to contain the spread. It has also tracked about 300 people who had come into contact with individuals affected by the Marburg virus.

The health minister has urged people to stay vigilant and avoid any physical contact and to wash their hands with clean water, soap or sanitiser and report any suspected case.

As of now, most of the cases have spread to the capital in Kigali. In light of this, the US Embassy in the city has advised its employees to work remotely for the next week.

This is the first time Rwanda has confirmed for Marburg cases, before this, in 2023, Tanzania confirmed the outbreak, whereas three people had died of this in Uganda in 2017.

History Of Marburg

As per WHO, this virus kills half of the people it infects. In the previous outbreaks, it has killed between 24% to 88% of the patients.

The virus was first detected in 1976 after 31 people were infected, out of which 7 died in simultaneous outbreak in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and Belgrade in Serbia.

The source was traced to African green monkeys who were imported from Uganda. However, other animals too are linked to the virus spread, including bats.

In the past, the virus outbreaks have happened in countries like Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. In 2005, this virus killed 300 people in Angola.

However, for the rest of the world, only two people have died from the virus in the rest of the world, with one of them being in Europe, and the other in the US. These both have been on expeditions to caves in Uganda.

Putting an end to speculation over US President Donald Trump’s health, the White House has announced that the 79-year-old is in “excellent health”.

Trump underwent his annual medical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26.

"President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function," Dr. Sean Barbabella, physician to the president, wrote in the memo, released late Friday evening.

He added that Trump is "fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State."

Trump’s health became a major subject of discussion after photographs at times showed swollen ankles, bruised hands, and a blotchy neck. He has been spotted several times with slurred speech and naps during official meetings.

Shortly after the examination, Trump said that "everything checked out perfectly."

Trump, who turns 80 in June, is the oldest person to assume the presidency. He frequently portrays himself as more energetic and fitter than Joe Biden, his Democratic predecessor, who left office last year at age 82 after facing questions about his fitness for the job.

Barbabella described the assessment as a “comprehensive preventive evaluation,” which included a thorough review of all diagnostic studies and laboratory testing conducted over the past year.

It also included “consultations with twenty-two specialty providers from multiple academic institutions. All aspects of the assessment were performed in accordance with US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations,” he said in the memo.

Also read: ‘Sea Or See?’ Donald Trump's Remark Sparks Fresh Cognitive Health Speculation

Diagnostic Summary

The President’s diagnostic summary showed:

• Vision is normal.
• Hearing is intact, and teeth are in very good condition.
• The thyroid and lymph nodes are normal. An ultrasound of the carotid arteries showed normal results.
• The lungs and chest demonstrated no abnormalities.
• Coronary CT angiography demonstrated no arterial obstruction or structural abnormalities of the heart or major vessels.
• An echocardiogram showed no abnormalities. Cardiac function is normal, and circulation to the extremities remains intact.
• Gastrointestinal/abdominal and genitourinary examinations were normal.
• Slight lower leg swelling was noted, with improvement from last year.

Barbabella further said that the medical test also evaluated his hands and “revealed ecchymosis (bruising), consistent with minor soft tissue irritation related to frequent handshaking in the setting of aspirin use for cardiovascular prevention". He added that it is “a common and benign effect of aspirin therapy.”

The examination also found no “suspicious lesions or concerning growths.”

Neurological Health

Read More: Was Trump Sleeping During Oval Office Event? White House Reacts

The President's neurological condition was significantly targeted, with many doctors pointing out that he's suffering from dementia. But the test results, authorized by the President for public release, revealed him to be in “normal mental status".

Further, it showed that his "cranial nerves are intact", and he also has "normal motor strength, sensation, reflexes, gait, and balance.”

Trump also completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) screenings for depression and anxiety, both of which were "normal".

Cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was also within normal limits, with a score of 30 out of 30.

Lab Results

Comprehensive laboratory evaluation, including a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, coagulation profile, D-dimer, B-type natriuretic peptide, and cardiac biomarkers, remained within normal limits, Barbabella said.

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), showing major improvements in maternal healthcare, nutrition, immunization, and family planning across the country.

The nationwide survey, which covered nearly 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts, highlighted stronger healthcare access and improved outcomes for women and children in the country.

Key Findings of NFHS-6

The NFHS-6 was conducted during 2023-24 by MoHFW with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as the nodal agency.

Maternal Care

NFHS-6 recorded notable gains in maternal and child healthcare services nationwide. Nearly 96 per cent of pregnant women received antenatal care (ANC), while mothers receiving ANC during the first trimester increased from 70.0 per cent to 76.2 per cent.

The percentage of mothers receiving at least four ANC visits also rose from 58.5 per cent to 65.2 per cent, reflecting improved continuity of maternal healthcare services.

Institutional deliveries increased from 88.6 per cent to 90.6 per cent, bringing India closer to universal institutional delivery coverage.

Maternal nutrition indicators also improved significantly. Women consuming iron folic acid supplements for 100 days or more during pregnancy increased from 44.1 per cent to 54.9 per cent. Those consuming supplements for 180 days or more rose from 26.0 per cent to 37.8 per cent.

Family Planning

India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) remained stable at 2.0, while the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) increased from 66.7 per cent to 69.1 per cent.

The findings reflect improved access to family planning services and the continued impact of government programs, including Mission Parivar Vikas.

Child Immunization

India also recorded progress towards universal immunization coverage. Full vaccination coverage among children aged 12-23 months increased from 83.8 per cent to 87.1 per cent based on vaccination cards.

More than 95 per cent of children received vaccinations through public health facilities, highlighting continued trust in the public healthcare system.

Coverage of major vaccines improved significantly. Rotavirus vaccination coverage surged from 36.4 per cent to 85.4 per cent, while coverage of the second dose of measles-containing vaccine increased from 58.6 per cent to 71.8 per cent.

The survey also found improvement in child health indicators. Symptoms of acute respiratory infection (ARI) among children declined from 2.8 per cent to 1.9 per cent, while severe diarrhea prevalence fell to 0.5 per cent.

The gains were attributed to stronger last-mile healthcare delivery, improved cold chain systems, digital tracking through U-WIN, and active community participation under the Universal Immunization Program.

Also read: Ebola: Inside India’s RT-PCR Tests For The Bundibugyo Strain| Explained

Child Nutrition Outcomes

NFHS-6 also reported encouraging progress in child nutrition indicators. More than 95 per cent of children under six months were breastfed during the survey period. The percentage of children breastfed within one hour of birth increased from 41.8 per cent to 50.1 per cent.

Stunting among children under five years declined sharply from 35.5 per cent to 29.3 per cent, indicating improvement in long-term nutritional outcomes.

Severe wasting declined from 7.7 per cent to 5.2 per cent, while underweight prevalence among children under five registered a marginal decline from 32.1 per cent to 31.8 per cent.

Infant and young child feeding practices also improved. Children aged 6-8 months receiving solid or semi-solid food along with breastmilk increased from 45.9 per cent to 59.5 per cent.

Amid the ongoing deadly Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified experimental treatments and vaccine candidates for the Bundibugyo strain, which currently has no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment.

The global health agency convened several expert and advisory groups and recommended prioritizing treatment of Bundibugyo cases with:

• Mapp Biopharmaceutical's MBP134
• Regeneron’s maftivimab
• Gilead Sciences’ antiviral remdesivir

In addition, the WHO also advised evaluating combination therapy using a monoclonal antibody together with remdesivir.

The advisory groups recommended that all identified products should be used exclusively within clinical trials to generate robust data and ensure safe, ethical, and effective research.

Preventive Therapies, Vaccine Candidates

Beyond treatment, the WHO also proposed therapies for the prevention of Bundibugyo cases.

• For post-exposure prophylaxis among contacts of confirmed and probable cases, the oral antiviral obeldesivir was identified as a priority candidate.

• The expert groups also identified the single-dose rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine, being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), as the most promising vaccine candidate.

The development of the vaccine is expected to take approximately 7–9 months before it can be assessed through clinical trials for its ability to prevent Bundibugyo disease (BDV).

• Another vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo — being developed by Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India — could potentially become available within 2–3 months for efficacy assessment through a clinical trial. However, additional animal data are still required to support and confirm further prioritization.

• The experts also reviewed the potential role of Merck's Ervebo, the only licensed Ebola vaccine currently available.

The WHO stated that Ervebo should not be used outside carefully designed research settings so that its performance against Bundibugyo disease can be properly assessed.

Meanwhile, Regeneron said in a statement that supplies of maftivimab are already available in the Democratic Republic of Congo, if the WHO decides to utilize the treatment immediately or include it as part of additional studies.

Read More: Donald Trump Says Health Check-Up Went 'Perfectly'

Russian Vaccine For New Strain

Meanwhile, Russia has claimed that its scientists have developed a novel vaccine against a new Ebola strain.

According to Russian Health Minister Murashko, "the vaccine may also protect against the rare Bundibugyo strain linked to the current outbreak in the DR Congo".

It is because the "genetic similarity between this virus variant and the vaccine strain is about 60-70%," Alexander Gintsburg, scientific director of the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was quoted as saying GxP News.

The rare Bundibugyo strain has so far caused over 900 cases and more than 200 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.