Prevention

Marburg virus disease (MVD) is caused by a group of viruses called marburgviruses and is a rare type of viral hemorrhagic fever that can cause severe illness in people. Egyptian rousette bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) are considered natural hosts for marburgviruses. In the areas where MVD is most common, marburgviruses are believed to spread at low rates among certain animals. Occasionally people become sick with MVD after contact with infected animals.

When living in or traveling to a region where marburgviruses are potentially present, there are a number of ways to protect yourself and prevent the spread of marburgviruses.

• Avoid contact with blood and body fluids (such as urine, feces, saliva, sweat, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, semen, and vaginal fluids) of people who are sick.
• Avoid contact with semen from a person who has recovered from MVD, until testing shows that the virus is gone from their semen.
• Avoid contact with items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids (such as clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment).
• Avoid funeral or burial practices that involve touching the body of someone who died from suspected or confirmed MVD.
• Avoid contact with Egyptian rousette bats and their habitats (caves, mines, infested buildings, etc.), and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys and chimpanzees) and the blood, fluids, or raw meat prepared from these or unknown animals. Avoid areas known to be inhabited by fruit bats (such as mines or caves).

These same prevention methods should be used when living in or traveling to an area experiencing an outbreak of MVD. After returning from an area experiencing an outbreak, people should monitor their health for 21 days and seek medical care immediately if they develop symptoms of Marburg virus disease.