Addis Ababa: The death toll from Ethiopia's Marburg virus disease outbreak has risen to five, the country's Ministry of Health has said. Two additional infections were confirmed after laboratory testing of seven suspected cases, bringing the total number of cases to 10.

In its latest update issued late Saturday, the ministry said the outbreak's case fatality rate now stands at 50 per cent.

As Ethiopia rolls out coordinated response measures to contain the country's first-ever Marburg virus outbreak, health authorities have conducted laboratory investigations on 53 suspected cases so far.

Ministry data showed that five individuals who have contracted the virus are currently receiving treatment at healthcare facilities.

The Ethiopian government confirmed the country's first Marburg virus disease outbreak in Jinka town in southern Ethiopia on November 14, following laboratory testing of samples from a cluster of suspected viral hemorrhagic fever cases.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said that coordinated efforts are currently underway to avert possible cross-border spread to neighboring countries, mainly South Sudan and Kenya.

The continental public health agency emphasised the urgent need to reinforce regional readiness, enhance information sharing, and strengthen cross-border surveillance to prevent the potential spread of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Marburg virus, a highly infectious pathogen with a high fatality rate, causes hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms, including high fever and severe headache, typically appear within a week of exposure. It belongs to the same virus family as Ebola.

According to the World Health Organization, Marburg virus disease is a severe disease with a fatality ratio of up to 88 per cent. This rate can be lower with good and early patient care.

MVD was initially detected in 1967 after two simultaneous outbreaks in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany, and in Belgrade, Serbia. The outbreak was associated with laboratory work using African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) imported from Uganda. Subsequently, outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa (in a person with recent travel history to Zimbabwe), Tanzania and Uganda.

IANS