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By Mayo Clinic staffThe possibility of contracting Marburg or Ebola virus is extremely low unless you've had direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person or animal or with contaminated objects. If you think that you or a family member may have been exposed to one of the viruses, call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. If you're not referred to an infectious disease specialist, ask to see one.
If you're traveling or working abroad, the nearest U.S. Embassy can help you find a healthcare provider. Be sure to tell your doctor or hospital about your symptoms before your visit so that precautions can be taken to prevent transmission of the virus to others.
To help your doctor find the cause of your symptoms as quickly as possible:
- Write down all the symptoms you're experiencing, including any that seem unrelated to Ebola virus or Marburg virus infection.
- Write down key personal information. Have you recently worked or traveled in a part of the world where outbreaks of Ebola or Marburg have occurred? Do you do animal research? Is there any other way you might have been exposed to one of the viruses?
- Make a list of all medications, vitamins and supplements that you're taking.
- If possible, take a family member or friend with you. Sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all the information provided to you in the hospital or during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor. For instance, if you're found to have Ebola or Marburg infection, you'll want to clearly understand available treatments, the complications of the disease and the outlook for your recovery.
- Ebola hemorrhagic fever fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/Fact_Sheets/Ebola_Fact_Booklet.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Questions and answers about Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.htm. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Questions and answers about Marburg hemorrhagic fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/marburg/qa.htm. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notice to readers update: Management of patients with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever - United States. MMWR. 1995;44:475. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00038033.htm. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Ebola hemorrhagic fever. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Marburg hemorrhagic fever. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/marburg/en. Accessed March 29, 2009.
- Marburg hemorrhagic fever, imported case - United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/outbreaks/index.htm. March 29, 2009.
- Ebola/Marburg vaccine development. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/ebolaMarburg. Accessed April 9, 2009.
- Peters CJ. Marburg and Ebola - Arming ourselves against the deadly filoviruses. New England Journal of Medicine. 2005;352:2571.
- Towner JS, et al. Marburg virus infection detected in a common African bat. PLoS (Public Library of Science) One. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.000076Accessed April 11, 2009.
