Ethiopia confirms first Marburg outbreak as WHO lauds country's fast
action
[November 18, 2025]
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.
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 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.
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