Marburg Virus Disease

Marburg FAQ

What is Marburg virus disease?

Marburg virus disease is a hemorrhagic fever virus that can disrupt the body’s clotting system and lead to internal bleeding. It is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease and has a high case fatality rate of 25-88%.

How quickly does a person experience symptoms after infection?

Symptoms develop between two to 21 days after transmission, depending on the route of infection and infectious dose.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms begin abruptly with a high fever, acute headache, and extreme fatigue. As the disease progresses, it becomes severe and can include pancreatic inflammation, shock, liver and immune system failure, and massive hemorrhaging.

How does a person get infected with Marburg?

Marburg is most often transmitted upon extremely close contact with an infected or deceased person, usually via contact with blood, saliva, urine, or other bodily fluids. Contact with contaminated clothing, bedding and medical equipment are other channels of transmission.

Where have cases of Marburg been found?

The first known outbreaks of Marburg occurred in 1967 in Germany and Serbia. Since then, most outbreaks have occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, but it has spread to other parts of the world in isolated instances.

When was the last outbreak of Marburg?

Marburg outbreaks have increased over the past few years, appearing in several countries with no record of previous outbreaks. In 2025, both Tanzania (January) and Ethiopia (November) announced outbreaks. Other declared outbreaks according to the World Health Organization: Rwanda (2024), Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea (2023), Ghana (2022), and Guinea (2021).

Is there a treatment or vaccine for Marburg?

There is no proven treatment for Marburg virus disease, but potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies, and drug therapies are currently in development. There is also currently no approved vaccine for Marburg, but Sabin currently has a candidate in Phase 2 clinical trials.

What is the status of Sabin’s Marburg vaccine candidate?

Sabin has several Phase 2 clinical trials for its cAd3-Marburg Vaccine candidate currently underway. In October 2023, Sabin began a Phase 2 clinical trial in Uganda and Kenya. Sabin began a U.S. Phase 2 clinical trial for its Marburg vaccine candidate in 2025.  During the 2024 Marburg outbreak in Rwanda, the government requested doses of Sabin’s Marburg vaccine candidate and established a Phase 2 outbreak clinical trial through the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, which involved more than 1,700 participants.