Marburg virus is named after the town in Germany where it first emerged. In 1967, there were simultaneous outbreaks at laboratories in Marburg and Belgrade in Serbia (then part of Yugoslavia). The outbreak was caused by African green monkeys imported from Uganda for use in experiments. Seven people died.

Eleven people have died in Rwanda as the African country continues to fight an outbreak of Marburg virus. The Rwandan government said there were 36 confirmed cases of the virus in its latest update, with 25 people in isolation.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and, in some cases, death through extreme blood loss. In Rwanda, most of the sick are health workers in six out of the country’s 30 districts.