Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has become the latest East African country to confirm cases of the Marburg virus, with nine infections detected in the Omo region, an area that shares a border with South Sudan.
The World Health Organization has stated that the strain identified in Ethiopia matches strains previously detected in other East African nations, prompting an urgent response to limit further spread.
A technical mission from the World Health Organization has already been deployed to Ethiopia to strengthen surveillance and guide local authorities on outbreak control measures. Health teams have been tracing contacts, assessing affected communities and expanding awareness programmes in the region to reduce transmission risks.
The detection in Ethiopia has followed a similar outbreak in Rwanda last year, where investigations found that the virus had been transmitted to humans during cave excavations in areas populated by fruit bats. Marburg is closely related to Ebola and is known to be transmitted initially from bats to humans, after which human-to-human transmission can occur through close contact, bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces.
Health experts have highlighted that there have been no other recent outbreaks in neighbouring African countries, but the confirmation in Ethiopia has raised concern due to the virus’s high fatality rate. The disease is known to cause sudden high fever, severe headache and muscle pain, followed by diarrhoea, vomiting and, in severe cases, bleeding.
There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine available for the Marburg virus. Medical teams in Ethiopia have been focusing on supportive care to manage symptoms and prevent further complications. The virus was first discovered in 1967 in European locations including Marburg and Frankfurt, after which it was named.
Public health authorities have emphasised the need for rapid containment and community awareness in Ethiopia to prevent wider regional spread. Health officials are working closely with international partners to strengthen diagnostic capacity and reinforce infection prevention systems in affected districts.
As Ethiopia manages this outbreak, global health experts have warned that early detection and strong cross-border coordination remain essential to prevent large-scale transmission in regions with limited health resources. The response now underway aims to safeguard communities in the Omo region and prevent the virus from reaching more densely populated areas.
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