Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of the Marburg virus in the country’s southern region, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
Marburg is one of the most lethal known viruses. Like Ebola, it causes severe bleeding, high fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, and has an incubation period of up to 21 days. It spreads through contact with infected body fluids and has reported fatality rates ranging from about 25% to 80%.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, said at least nine cases had been detected in southern Ethiopia. His confirmation came two days after Africa CDC was notified of a suspected haemorrhagic virus in the area.
Africa CDC reported that Ethiopia’s National Reference Laboratory has confirmed Marburg virus disease (MVD). Epidemiological investigations and further laboratory analyses are under way, and the detected strain shows similarities to strains previously identified in East Africa.
Ethiopian health authorities moved quickly to confirm and contain the outbreak in the Jinka area, Africa CDC said. The agency added it will collaborate with Ethiopia to coordinate an effective response and reduce the risk of spread to other parts of East Africa.
Recent Marburg activity in the region includes a January outbreak in Tanzania that killed 10 people and was declared over in March, and Rwanda’s first-known Marburg epidemic in December 2024, which resulted in 15 deaths.
There is currently no approved vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for Marburg. Supportive care — including oral or intravenous rehydration and treatment of individual symptoms — can improve a patient’s chances of survival. Rwanda has previously taken part in a trial of an experimental vaccine developed by the US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute.
