Ethiopian health authorities have confirmed an outbreak of the Marburg virus in the southern part of the country, reaching epidemic levels, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
At least nine confirmed cases have been reported, the World Health Organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told The Guardian.
The virus, part of the Filovirus family, causes severe hemorrhagic fever and has a mortality rate of up to 90 percent.
The Africa CDC said it received a report of a suspected viral hemorrhagic fever case on Nov. 12, before the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian Public Health Institute confirmed the outbreak in the city of Jinka.
WHO said samples from Equatorial Guinea were sent to a laboratory in Senegal to verify the causative agent after 16 suspected cases were reported with symptoms including fever, fatigue, diarrhea, and vomiting . Medical teams and protective equipment have been deployed to support local containment efforts.
Marburg virus is rare, originates in bats, and spreads to humans through contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces. First identified in Marburg, Germany in 1967, the virus has no specific treatment or vaccine, though supportive care can improve survival chances.
