Episode 215: Marburg Virus and Global EM

Episode 215: Marburg Virus and Global EM

From Core EM - Emergency Medicine Podcast by Core EM

November 1, 2025 · Episode 215

About this episode

The episode discusses lessons from Rwanda’s Marburg Virus outbreak and the importance of building resilient systems in global emergency medicine.

Lessons from Rwanda’s Marburg Virus Outbreak and Building Resilient Systems in Global EM. Hosts: Tsion Firew, MD Brian Gilberti, MD https://media.blubrry.com/coreem/content.blubrry.com/coreem/Marburg_Virus.mp3 Download Leave a Comment Tags: Global Health , Infectious Diseases Show Notes Context and the Rwanda Marburg Experience The Threat: Marburg Virus Disease is from the same family as Ebola and has historically had a reported fatality rate as high as 90%. The Outbreak (Sept. 2024): Rwanda declared an MVD outbreak. The initial cases involved a miner, his pregnant wife (who fell ill and died after having a baby), and the baby (who also died). Healthcare Worker Impact: The wife was treated at an epicenter hospital. Eight HCWs were exposed to a nurse who was coding in the ICU; all eight developed symptoms, tested positive within a week, and four of them died. The Turning Point: The outbreak happened in city referral hospitals where advanced medical interventions (dialysis, mechanical ventilation) were available. Rapid Therapeutics Access: Within 10 days of identifying Marburg, novel therapies ( experimental drugs and monoclonal antibodies) and an experimental vaccine were made…

People in this episode

Host: Brian Gilberti

Topics covered

  • Marburg Virus
  • Global Emergency Medicine
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology
  • Resilient Systems

Keywords

  • Marburg Virus Outbreak
  • Rwanda
  • Global EM
  • Resilient Systems
  • Public Health Lessons

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Rwanda, US

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