Ethiopia declares end of Marburg outbreak / Photo: © AFP
Ethiopia declares end of Marburg outbreak
Ethiopia declared the end of an outbreak of Marburg, a virus in the same family as Ebola, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
It was the first recorded outbreak of the virus in Ethiopia, and had claimed nine lives from 14 cases since first detected in mid-November in the town of Jinka, about 430 kilometres (270 miles) southwest of the capital, Addis Ababa.
Marburg causes a highly contagious haemorrhagic fever, and is transmitted to humans by certain species of bats before spreading between people, mostly by bodily fluids. Its mortality rate can reach nearly 90 percent.
"Ethiopia has officially declared the end of its first-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak following enhanced surveillance with no new confirmed cases. The outbreak was contained in less than three months through a government-led response supported by WHO," the UN agency posted on X.
Ethiopia is Africa's second-most populous country, with around 130 million inhabitants.
Several countries on the continent have been affected by Marburg outbreaks in recent years, including Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Tanzania.
There is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment, but rehydration therapies and treatment of specific symptoms increase the chances of survival.
(B.Izyumov--DTZ)
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