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NAIROBI:&nbsp;Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in the south of the country, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday. The World Health Organization said both viruses belong to the filovirus family, the same group that includes the Ebola virus, and cause severe illness that is clinically similar to Ebola virus disease.&nbsp; Also like Ebola, it is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and has a fatality rate of between 25% and 80%. The Marburg virus is one of the deadliest known pathogens.&nbsp; The World Health Organization states that patients often experience sudden high fever, severe headache and malaise, followed by diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. &nbsp;A non-itchy rash can appear between days two and seven.&nbsp; From day five, patients may show hemorrhagic signs including bleeding from the nose, gums and venepuncture sites. Confusion, irritability and orchitis have been documented in later stages. Diagnosing the disease is challenging because early symptoms resemble malaria, typhoid, meningitis and other viral hemorrhagic fevers, according to WHO. The Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through human-to-human transmission, World Health Organization&nbsp;says.&nbsp; The head of WHO, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed on Friday that at least nine cases had been detected in southern Ethiopia, two days after Africa CDC was alerted to a suspected hemorrhagic virus in the region. &ldquo;Marburg virus disease (MVD) has been confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory (in Ethiopia),&rdquo; Africa CDC said. &ldquo;Further epidemiological investigations and laboratory analyses are underway, and the virus strain detected shows similarities to those previously identified in East Africa.&rdquo; It said Ethiopian health authorities had acted swiftly to confirm and contain the outbreak in the Jinka area. Africa CDC said it would work with Ethiopia to ensure an effective response and reduce the risk of the virus spreading to other parts of East Africa. An epidemic of Marburg virus killed 10 people in Tanzania in January before being declared over in March. Rwanda said in December 2024 that it had managed to stamp out its first known Marburg epidemic, which caused 15 deaths. There is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for the Marburg virus, but oral or intravenous rehydration and treatment of specific symptoms increase patients&rsquo; chances of survival. Last year, Rwanda trialed an experimental vaccine from the US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute.

FILE PHOTO - Internally displaced children play at Berley Camp, 20 kilometres from the city of Gode, Ethiopia, on January 10, 2023. (AFP)

Africa

Ethiopia has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in the south of the country, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Saturday.

Ethiopia confirms deadly Marburg virus outbreak: Africa CDC

ADDIS ABABA: Thousands gathered in Ethiopia&rsquo;s capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday for the East African country&rsquo;s thanksgiving festival, which is celebrated annually by the largest ethnic group, the Oromos, who were donning mostly white traditional attire.&nbsp;The Irreecha festival is held to thank God, whom the Oromos call Waaqa.&nbsp; Some still practice the traditional Waaqqeffannaa, which is the worship of Waaqa.&nbsp;&ldquo;Irreecha is an important tradition that the Oromos treasure,&rdquo; said Abbaa Gadaa Asmacha Foro, who was attending the festival and had traveled from the West Shewa Zone in the country&rsquo;s central Oromia region.&nbsp;Representing approximately a third of Ethiopia&rsquo;s nearly 130 million population, the Oromo people use this annual festival to preach peace and unity.&nbsp;&ldquo;Irreecha is a vibrant thanksgiving festival that unites all the main clans of the Oromo,&rdquo; said Robiya Bimam, a 35-year-old hotelier and resident of Addis Ababa.&nbsp;There was increased security in the city before the festival, after the one in 2016 turned violent.&nbsp; Attendees at the time used the festival to hold anti-federal government protests and clashed with security forces, leading to a stampede that left more than 50 people dead.&nbsp;That festival gave birth to new leadership, which saw current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, born in the Oromia region, rise to power.&nbsp;Ahmed said Saturday that this year&rsquo;s Irreecha comes after the country inaugurated the Grand Renaissance Dam, which &ldquo;doubles our joy.&rdquo;&nbsp;Legesse Addisalem, an elder from Sebeta, a small town located 22 kilometers from Addis Ababa, said that &ldquo;Irreecha is a celebration of fertility, love, and peace. We pray for peace not only for Ethiopia but for all of Africa and the world.&rdquo;&nbsp;James Jordan, a tourist from the US, attended the Irreecha festival for the first time.&nbsp;&ldquo;As a tourist, I&rsquo;m mesmerized by the lively culture and large crowds at the Irreecha festival,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;I found it to be a wonderful celebration,&rdquo; said Tariku Gankasi, a prominent Ethiopian artist from Jinka, a southern region of Ethiopia.&nbsp;The majority of Oromos believe that they were denied the right to practice and promote their traditions by authorities in the past, including Emperor Menelik II, Emperor Haile Selassie and the military-Marxist Derg government.&nbsp;Following protracted struggles and immense sacrifices, the Irreecha festival was revived in the late 1990s, when the Derg was toppled.&nbsp;Umer Ali, 60, was elegantly dressed in his traditional Oromo clothing as he reflected on the revival of the Irreecha celebrations.&nbsp;&ldquo;For 150 years, the Oromo were denied cultural expression, but reforms by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed six years ago now allow them to celebrate Irreecha in Finfine and express their culture,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;Yosuf Robie, a resident of Addis Ababa, said that &ldquo;we inherited this culture from our ancestors, and we must promote and pass it on to the next generation.&quot;&nbsp;Now, with Abiy as the country&rsquo;s first Oromo leader, many Oromos feel more empowered to promote their culture.

Thousands gathered in Addis Ababa for the Irreecha festival, a major Oromo thanksgiving celebration promoting peace, unity, and cultural revival, reflecting renewed freedoms under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Articles tagged with "Ethiopia"

Ethiopia confirms deadly Marburg virus outbreak: Africa CDC

Thousands gather for Ethiopia's thanksgiving festival

Ethiopia confirms deadly Marburg virus outbreak: Africa CDC