Marburg Virus โEpidemic Confirmed inโ Southern Ethiopia
ADDISโ ABABA – Ethiopian health authorities have confirmedโ an outbreak of the highly dangerous Marburg virus inโ the southern region of the country, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Preventionโข (Africa CDC) announced Saturday. โThis marks a concerning development as โฃthe virus, a relative of Ebola, carriesโค a mortality rateโข ofโค up to 90%.
The outbreak currently consists of at least nineโ confirmed cases, as โฃreported by World Health Association (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom โGhebreyesus onโฃ Friday. The virus is transmitted to โhumans by certainโ speciesโข of bats and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, leading to notable health risks. โ
“The WHO โขis โactivelyโฃ supporting Ethiopia in its efforts to containโค the epidemic โฃand โขtreat infected people, and supports all initiatives aimed at preventing possible cross-border spread,” Tedrosโฃ stated via X โ(formerly โคTwitter).
Currently, there are no approved vaccines or antiviral treatments specifically for Marburg virus โdisease. Medical care focuses onโข supportive โtreatment – maintaining hydration through oral or โขintravenousโฃ fluids – andโฃ managing individual symptoms to improve patient โคsurvival rates.
Health โฃofficials โare prioritizing containment efforts to prevent the โspread of the virus beyond Ethiopia’s borders. The situation remains fluid, andโฃ further updates will be provided as they become available.