January 27, 2026
1 min read
Key takeaways:
- The outbreak was declared on Nov. 14.
- In all, there were 14 cases and nine deaths.
Ethiopia has declared the end of its first outbreak of Marburg virus, health officials announced Monday.
Since Nov. 14 when the outbreak was declared, a total of 14 cases and nine deaths were reported. According to WHO, three of those cases occurred among health workers, two of whom died.
The outbreak was declared after 42 days with no new cases — or the maximum length of two incubation periods.
Unlike Ebola, there are no approved vaccines for Marburg virus or approved therapeutics to treat it, although several vaccine candidates have reached human trials.
In all, 857 contacts of cases were identified in the Ethiopia outbreak and monitored for 21 days each for signs of infection, according to WHO.
“The rapid containment of this outbreak reflects strong national leadership, effective coordination and the dedication of frontline responders and communities,” Ethiopian health minister Mekdes Daba, MD, MPH, said in a press release. “Sustaining preparedness remains essential to protect the population from future public health threats.”
Marburg virus has caused outbreaks across sub-Saharan Africa since it was first identified in 1967 after German scientists in the city of Marburg, Germany, contracted the virus while handling monkeys from Africa, according to the CDC.
In the last 5 years, Marburg outbreaks have occurred in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Tanzania, Guinea and Rwanda — the latter two countries reporting first-ever outbreaks in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
According to the Africa CDC, the strain of Marburg virus that caused the outbreak in Ethiopia is similar to viruses detected in past outbreaks in East Africa.
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