Ethiopia declares end of its first Marburg outbreak after 42 days with no new cases

Outbreak declared over after sustained surveillance

Ethiopia has declared the end of its first-ever Marburg virus disease outbreak on 26 January 2026, citing intensive surveillance and mandatory control measures and the absence of new confirmed cases over a 42-day period. The announcement marks a key public-health milestone in a region that has faced recurring threats from viral haemorrhagic fevers, including Marburg.

Marburg virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness, and outbreak control typically depends on rapid identification, contact tracing, infection prevention and control in healthcare settings and sustained community engagement. The declaration that transmission has stopped does not mean risk disappears, but it indicates that chains of transmission were interrupted and monitored long enough to meet international standards for declaring an outbreak over.

Timeline and response tools

The outbreak was confirmed in November 2025, and early reports indicated laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths. As the response evolved, international partners supported medical countermeasures, including investigational vaccine doses and experimental therapeutics supplied to assist with containment and clinical care. Such tools remain limited globally for Marburg, making surveillance, isolation practices and health-system readiness especially critical during outbreaks.

Authorities also continued efforts to clarify the likely origin of infections. Marburg is often linked to spillover events from wildlife reservoirs, including fruit bats, followed by human-to-human transmission through close contact with bodily fluids. Identifying the source is important for prevention, but operationally the immediate priority in any outbreak is to stop transmission and protect health workers and communities.

Why the declaration matters beyond Ethiopia

For neighbouring countries and international travel corridors, an outbreak end declaration provides clarity for risk communication and preparedness planning. It also offers lessons on how quickly public health systems must mobilise to manage rare but high-consequence pathogens.

Health agencies generally continue post-outbreak monitoring, as reintroductions can occur through undetected chains or new spillover events. The end-of-outbreak announcement, therefore, is best read as confirmation that the specific event was contained, not as a guarantee that the pathogen will not reappear in the future.