Ethiopia confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease after sending samples from a cluster of suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever for testing earlier this week.

The virus is the same strain reported in previous outbreaks in other East African nations, the World Health Organisation said late Friday. Nine cases, including health workers, have been reported in Ethiopia’s southern region near South Sudan. The WHO and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Ethiopia moved quickly to identify the virus and begin containment efforts.

Rwanda last year linked its first outbreak of the highly virulent disease to mining done in a cave inhabited by fruit bats. Once transmitted to humans, the often severe and even fatal illness spreads among people through direct c

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