Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in the south of the country, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday.
The Marburg virus is one of the deadliest known pathogens. Like Ebola, it causes severe bleeding, fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea and has a 21-day incubation period.
Also, like Ebola, it is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and has a fatality rate ranging between 25 and 80 per cent.
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed on Friday that at least nine cases had been detected in southern Ethiopia, two days after the Africa CDC was alerted to a suspected haemorrhagic virus in the region.
“The National Reference Laboratory in Ethiopia has confirmed Marburg virus disease (MVD).
“Further epidemiological investigations and laboratory analyses are underway, and the virus strain detected shows similarities to those previously identified in East Africa,” Africa CDC said.
Africa CDC said Ethiopian health authorities had acted swiftly to confirm and contain the outbreak in the Jinka area.
It added that it would work with Ethiopia to ensure an effective response and reduce the risk of the virus spreading to other parts of East Africa.
An epidemic of the Marburg virus killed 10 people in Tanzania in January before being contained in March.
Rwanda reported in December 2024 that it had successfully contained its first known Marburg outbreak, which caused 15 deaths.
There is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for the Marburg virus, but oral or intravenous rehydration and treatment of specific symptoms can increase patients’ chances of survival.
Last year, Rwanda tested an experimental vaccine developed by the US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
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