Ethiopia confirms first Marburg outbreak as WHO lauds country's fast action

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia on Friday confirmed its first Marburg outbreak after nine cases were identified in a southern region of the country that borders South Sudan.

The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the Ethiopian government’s fast action, saying it showed a “commitment to bringing the outbreak under control quickly.”

Ethiopia’s government had reported on Thursday that it was investigating a possible outbreak of an unidentified viral hemorrhagic fever and was lauded by the continental health emergency body, Africa CDC, for its transparency.

The WHO sent a technical team on Thursday to support the East African country in testing and outbreak response.

“WHO is also providing essential supplies, including personal protective equipment for health workers and infection-prevention supplies, as well as a rapidly deployable isolation tent to bolster clinical care and management capacity,” the U.N. agency said in a statement.

The outbreak was reported in the southern region of Omo, which borders South Sudan. Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said Thursday that the outbreak was a concern because “South Sudan isn’t far and has a fragile health system.”

No other African country has reported Marburg virus cases in recent weeks.

The Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bedsheets.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pains, diarrhea, vomiting and in some cases death from extreme blood loss. There is no authorized vaccine or treatment for Marburg.