Nature There is no proven vaccine or treatment for infections with the virus, which is closely related to Ebola virus and causes similar symptoms. It is an outbreak of superlatives. One of the deadliest known viruses, Marburg, has emerged in Rwanda, killing 13 people and sickening 58 in one of the biggest Marburg outbreaks ever documented. Scientists expect the outbreak to be curtailed quickly — but they warn that, overall, Marburg is on the rise.
The outbreak, which was declared on 27 September, is Rwanda’s first. Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea recorded their first Marburg outbreaks last year; Ghana’s first was in 2022. Before the 2020s, outbreaks were detected at most a few times each decade; they now occur roughly once a year. The origins of the events are not entirely clear. But researchers say that environmental threats, such as climate change and deforestation, have made people more likely to encounter animals that can pass on infections.