The death toll from Marburg virus disease outbreak in Ethiopia has risen to six, the country’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday. 

In a statement, the ministry said 73 suspected cases had been tested, according to the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), and five patients remain under treatment. The authorities added that 349 contacts had been identified, of whom 119 have completed their monitoring period. 

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced on November 15 that Ethiopia had officially confirmed its first Marburg outbreak after laboratory tests detected the virus in the country’s southern region. 

Health officials said isolation centers had been set up in affected areas, trained medical teams deployed, and essential supplies mobilized to improve patient care. Screening at airports, border crossings and other entry points has been reinforced. 

“Additionally, Ethiopia is working with countries that previously experienced Marburg outbreaks to exchange expertise, learn from their experience, and access treatments and vaccines,” the statement added.

First identified in 1967 following outbreaks in Germany and Serbia, the Marburg virus causes a severe and highly infectious hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, sore throat, and acute abdominal pain, with severe cases leading to internal bleeding and death. Transmission occurs through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials. 

Late last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that “Ethiopia is facing concurrent emergencies and multiple disease outbreaks, including of cholera, measles, dengue, which results in stretched health capacity.”  

Russia’s public health agency, Rospotrebnadzor, has announced that it is cooperating with the Ethiopian Health Ministry. The Russian agency has reported having developed a highly sensitive test system for detecting the Marburg virus.

The outbreak comes as Africa faces multiple public-health emergencies. On Monday, Namibia’s Ministry of Health and Social Services reported a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) outbreak in the Khomas region. The disease is a tick-borne viral illness that causes sudden high fever, severe muscle pain and, in advanced stages, internal bleeding. 

The continent is also battling its worst cholera surge in 25 years, with more than 300,000 suspected and confirmed cases and over 7,000 deaths recorded in 2025.

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