Marburg virus disease

At a glance

No vaccine available – read more about prevention
Nationally notifiable disease

About Marburg virus disease

Marburg virus disease is a severe type of viral haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola disease.

It is caused by infection with either Marburg virus or Ravn virus.

Why it matters to public health

Marburg virus disease is rare, but previous outbreaks have had very high death rates.

About half of people with Marburg virus disease die from the infection.

Most cases have been reported in Sub-Saharan Africa, but infections have also been diagnosed in other parts of the world in travellers or laboratory workers.

Nobody has ever been diagnosed with Marburg virus disease in Australia.

Because of how serious these diseases can be, viral haemorrhagic fevers are listed human diseases. This means the Australian Government can use special powers to stop them from entering the country and respond quickly if they are detected.

Symptoms

If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.

Symptoms usually start suddenly and can get worse over time.

Early symptoms include:

fever
severe headache
muscle pains
weakness
sore throat.

This is followed by:

Later stages can involve bleeding, including:

blood in vomit and stools
bleeding from the nose, gums, eyes or vagina.

The illness can progress to multi-organ failure and death.

Read more about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of viral haemorrhagic fevers.

healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to contact a health professional.

Check your symptoms

Onset of symptoms

Symptoms usually start between 8 and 10 days after exposure to the virus. But this can range from 2 to 21 days.

How it spreads

The viruses that cause Marburg virus disease can spread to people through contact with infected animals, their body fluids or places where infected animals live. Marburg virus disease has most often been linked to exposure to Egyptian rousette bats – a type of fruit bat found in parts of Africa.

Infected animals can still spread the virus after they have died.

Once a person has become infected, the disease can spread to others through:

direct contact with blood or other body fluids of the infected person – including after they have died
contact with objects contaminated with infected blood or body fluids – such as needles or syringes
sexual contact.

Infectious period

The viruses that cause Marburg virus disease can spread to others from when symptoms begin and while the virus remains in blood and other body fluids.

The risk of spread increases as symptoms worsen. People who die from the disease are most infectious around the time of death and after death.

Although rare, the virus can stay in some body fluids (like semen) for many months after a person has recovered.

Prevention

There are no vaccines for Marburg virus disease currently approved in Australia.

For people travelling to countries where Marburg virus disease occurs, the best protection is to:

follow official travel advice before and after leaving Australia
not travel to areas with outbreaks
avoid contact with:
- people with Marburg virus disease and their body fluids – whether they are alive or dead
- people who are unwell and their body fluids
- objects contaminated with the body fluids of somebody who is unwell.
not interact with wild animals (such as fruit bats) – including entering caves or mines where fruit bat colonies live, hunting, eating bush meat or disturbing animal habitats
practise good personal hygiene, including hand hygiene
practise safe sex.

Read more about preventing Marburg virus disease.

Priority groups and settings

People at greater risk of severe disease

Anyone who gets Marburg virus disease is at risk of getting severely unwell or dying.

People at greater risk of exposure

People who might be at greater risk of exposure to these viruses include:

people caring for people with Marburg virus disease – including healthcare and humanitarian workers
people who handle the body of someone who has died with Marburg virus disease
people who interact with infected animals or spend time in their habitats
laboratory workers handling samples of the viruses or infected animals
sexual partners of people who have recently recovered from Marburg virus disease – especially if they have contact with semen.

Diagnosis and treatment

Marburg virus disease is usually diagnosed with a blood test.

Other tests might also require the collection of:

urine
a throat or nose swab.

The Australian Government regulates the handling of the viruses that cause Marburg virus disease. This is because of their potential to be misused in an act of bioterrorism or biocrime. Read more about security sensitive biological agents.

There are no specific treatments available for Marburg virus disease.

People with Marburg virus disease are treated in hospital with strict infection prevention and control measures.

Read more about the treatment of people with Marburg virus disease.

Surveillance and reporting

Viral haemorrhagic fevers (including Marburg virus disease) are nationally notifiable diseases – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.

Health authorities in each state and territory report cases to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

This is part of national surveillance activities to monitor case numbers and understand disease patterns.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports on Marburg virus disease outbreaks globally.

Outbreaks

Australia has strong systems to prevent and respond to Marburg virus disease.

Australia screens for listed human diseases (including Marburg virus disease) at the border. Incoming travellers who have signs or symptoms of the disease are assessed and, if required, might be referred for appropriate medical care and management.

If there’s a major outbreak overseas, the Australian Government might introduce extra steps to keep everyone safe. These could include:

monitoring passengers and returning travellers from affected areas
displaying information at airports and ports – like in brochures, banners or electronic messages
using legal powers, if needed.

Support

For more information, see the WHO Marburg virus disease web page.

For travel advice, see Smartraveller.

For information in your state or territory, see:

If you need mental health support, see a list of organisations, websites and services that offer support, counselling and information.