Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of the Marburg virus in its southern region, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
Marburg is a highly lethal haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. It can cause severe bleeding, high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, and has an incubation period of up to 21 days. The virus spreads through contact with infected body fluids and has reported fatality rates of roughly 25% to 80% depending on the outbreak and response.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that at least nine cases were detected in southern Ethiopia, two days after Africa CDC was alerted to a suspected haemorrhagic illness in the area. Africa CDC said Ethiopia’s National Reference Laboratory has confirmed Marburg virus disease and that further epidemiological and laboratory investigations are under way. The strain appears similar to variants previously identified in east Africa.
Ethiopian health authorities moved quickly to confirm the diagnosis and to contain the outbreak around the Jinka area, Africa CDC said. The agency also pledged to work with Ethiopia to support the response and reduce the risk of spread elsewhere in the region.
Earlier this year, a Marburg outbreak in Tanzania resulted in 10 deaths and was declared over in March. Rwanda ended its first known Marburg epidemic in December 2024 after 15 deaths.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Marburg virus disease. Supportive care — including oral or intravenous rehydration and management of symptoms — can improve chances of survival. In 2024, Rwanda trialled an experimental vaccine developed by the Sabin Vaccine Institute.
