“Marburg virus is notorious for its killing ability. In past outbreaks, as many as 9 out of 10 patients have died from the disease. And there are no approved vaccines or medications.

That was the grim situation in Rwanda just over a month ago, when officials made the announcement that nobody wants to make: The country was in the midst of its first Marburg outbreak. 

Now those same Rwandan officials have better news to share. Remarkably better.

‘We are at a case fatality rate of 22.7% — probably among the lowest ever recorded [for a Marburg outbreak],’ said Dr. Yvan Butera, the Rwandan Minister of State for Health at a press conference hosted by Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

There’s more heartening news: Two of the Marburg patients, who experienced multiple organ failure and were put on life support, have now been extubated — had their breathing tubes successfully removed — and have recovered from the virus.

‘We believe this is the first time patients with Marburg virus have been extubated in Africa,’ says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. ‘These patients would have died in previous outbreaks.’

The number of new cases in Rwanda has also dwindled dramatically, from several a day to just 4 reported in the last two weeks, bringing the total for this outbreak to 66 Marburg patients and 15 deaths.”

From NPR.