The United States government has said she is providing disease response and preparedness support to the Marburg outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda. Days after the outbreak was first announced by the Republic of Rwanda’s Ministry of Health on September 27, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) activated a dedicated Marburg Outbreak Response Team to coordinate response efforts. Since the response team activation, USAID has provided an initial $1.35 million in pre-positioned outbreak response funding to address urgent gaps related to disease surveillance, contact tracing, case management, risk communication and community engagement, infection prevention and control, diagnostics, operations and logistics, safe and dignified burials, and point of entry screening.

USAID has also provided critical commodities to Rwanda from its outbreak response stockpile, including Marburg diagnostics and accessories to perform 288 tests, 2,500 sample collection media to collect and transport samples, and 500 units of Personal Protective Equipment for health workers.

USAID is coordinating with the Government of Rwanda, international partners including the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and local partners to help contain the outbreak, while also supporting neighboring countries with preparedness activities.

The statement made available to The Guardian read, “The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to partnering with national, regional, and global stakeholders to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies globally while protecting Americans at home and abroad.

The United States is implementing additional precautions for a small, select number of travelers that arrive from Rwanda to certain American airports for entry screening and follow up measures. These measures will advance ongoing efforts to protect public health and reassure the traveling public that the risk of Marburg Virus Disease spreading by air travel is minimised.”

Marburg is a rare, severe, viral hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, which is spread by contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from the disease. There are currently no confirmed cases outside of Rwanda.