Marburg in Equatorial Guinea
Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel
Alert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions
Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions
Key points
- On February 13, 2023, Equatorial Guinea declared an outbreak of Marburg virus disease. Confirmed cases have been reported in multiple districts (see map).
- Reconsider non-essential travel to mainland Equatorial Guinea.
- If you travel to Equatorial Guinea, you should:
- Avoid contact with sick people who have symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, and rash.
- Avoid contact with blood and other body fluids.
- Avoid contact with dead bodies or items that have been in contact with dead bodies, participating in funeral or burial rituals, or attending a funeral or burial.
- Avoid visiting healthcare facilities in the outbreak area for nonurgent medical care or for nonmedical reasons.
- Avoid visiting traditional healers.
- Avoid contact with fruit bats and the caves and mines where they live.
- Avoid nonhuman primates (e.g., chimpanzees, gorillas).
- Watch your health for symptoms of Marburg while in the outbreak area and for 21 days after leaving the outbreak area.
- If you develop fever, chills, muscle pain, rash, sore throat, diarrhea, weakness, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising while in the outbreak area, you should separate yourself from others (isolate) and seek medical care immediately.
- Follow additional recommendations after you return to the United States.
- If you are traveling to Equatorial Guinea as a healthcare or emergency response worker, follow CDC’s special recommendations for organizations sending workers to the outbreak area.
Additional Information about the Outbreak
- There have been clusters of Marburg cases across multiple districts, which may indicate undetected spread of the virus.
- There have been cases of Marburg in healthcare workers, which may indicate insufficient infection prevention and control measures in health care facilities.
Traveler Information
- Health Information for Travelers to Equatorial Guinea
- CDC Marburg website
- Travelers’ Health Ebola and Marburg website
- WHO Marburg Virus Disease
- Travel health and medical evacuation insurance
- Register with the US Department of State
Clinician Information
- Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers in the CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel
- Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers for Healthcare Providers
Map: Area of Marburg virus disease outbreak in Equatorial Guinea (see larger map)
What is Marburg?
Marburg virus disease is a rare and deadly disease that has, at times, caused outbreaks in several African countries. It is spread by contact with blood or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from Marburg. It is also spread by contact with contaminated objects (such as clothing, bedding, needles, and medical equipment) or by contact with animals, such as bats and nonhuman primates, who are infected with Marburg virus.
Marburg is a viral hemorrhagic fever. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, rash, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, chest pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. Infection with Marburg virus is often fatal. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for Marburg.
Page last reviewed: May 12, 2023