Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it would donate about 5 000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir to the Rwanda Medical Supply for emergency use in response to the Marburg virus outbreak.

The drug is being supplied in conjunction with Rwanda's health ministry and the Africa Centers for Disease Control, Gilead said.

Remdesivir, used during the pandemic to treat Covid-19 and originally developed to treat Ebola, is not approved for the treatment of Marburg disease anywhere and its safety and efficacy against the virus is unknown, the drugmaker said.

Rwanda's first outbreak of the viral fever, which causes symptoms including high fever, severe headaches and malaise, was detected in late September and has killed 11 people so far.

Earlier in the day, Rwanda's health minister said the country will start clinical trials of experimental vaccines and treatments for Marburg disease in the next few weeks.

The virus, which has a fatality rate of 88% so far, is transmitted to humans by fruit bats, before spreading through contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.