04/06/2023: Lab Advisory: CDC Issues Health Alert for Marburg Disease Outbreaks
Audience: Clinical Laboratories
Level: Laboratory Advisory
On April 6, 2023, CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) message about recent outbreaks of Marburg virus disease (MVD).
The risk of travel-associated MVD in the United States is very low. MVD is similar to other illnesses associated with viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), such as Ebola virus disease. The likelihood of MVD is very low, and patients with symptoms should be tested and treated accordingly for other more likely conditions. Clinical laboratories can safely perform common diagnostic testing by following Standard Precautions for All Patient Care and Universal Precautions for Preventing the Transmission of Bloodborne Infections.
Clinicians concerned that a patient may have MVD should immediately contact their state, tribal, local, or territorial (STLT) health department or CDC to determine if testing for MVD is needed. CDC’s Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB) is available 24/7 for consultations on VHFs. You can request VSPB’s on-call epidemiologist by contacting the CDC Emergency Operations Center at 770-488-7100.
If testing for MVD is needed, CDC and the STLT health department will provide guidance and instructions on specimen collection and shipping to public health laboratories that are members of the Laboratory Response Network.
If public health laboratory testing determines a diagnosis of MVD, clinical teams should coordinate with STLT public health officials and CDC to ensure appropriate precautions are taken to help prevent the potential spread and coordinate care.
We encourage you to share this message widely with your networks.
Click here to opt in to receive updates from the CDC Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS).
Resources
- CDC Marburg Virus Disease Website
- CDC Marburg Disease Outbreaks
- World Health Organization: Marburg Virus Disease – Equatorial Guinea
- Department of Transportation Transporting Infectious Substances Overview
- Department of Transportation Transporting Infectious Substances Safely
- eCFR :: 49 CFR 173.196 — Category A infectious substances
Questions?
- If you are a clinical or public health laboratory professional, contact LOCS.
- For media inquiries, contact the CDC Newsroom.
- For all other questions, contact CDC-INFO.
Thank you,
The Laboratory Outreach Communication System
Laboratory Outreach Communication System (LOCS) | Division of Laboratory Systems (DLS)
Office of Laboratory Science and Safety (OLSS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)