Lassa Fever - All You Need To Know.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses. It is transmitted to humans from contacts with food or household items contaminated with rodent excreta.

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 The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa.The illness was discovered in the year 1969 when two missionary nurses died from it in Nigeria. The virus is named after the town in Nigeria where the illness first occurred.

Lassa fever is endemic in Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone and The symptoms and signs are similar to those of Ebola and Dengue fevers and even malaria.

The latest outbreak in Nigeria started in Bauchi State in November 2015 and about 40 people have died and 80 others hospitalised. The states so far affected are Bauchi, Taraba, Oyo, Edo, Plateau, Nasarawa, Rivers,Niger, Kano and Gombe.

1.What Causes Lassa Fever
Lassa Fever is caused by Lassa virus; it is named after the village where the virus was first identified. The virus belongs to a group of viruses which cause haemorrhagic fevers such dengue fever, ebola fever, yellow fever and so forth.

2.How Does Lassa Fever Spread?
The reservoir of infection is a particular type of rat—the Natal multimammate mouse which is found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is normally resident in the bush but is driven into houses during bush burning during the dry season.
The virus lives and multiplies in the rat. It is contained in the urine and stool of rats. The urine can contaminate exposed food and man contracts the disease if he eats the contaminated food. The stool can become dried up and with dust can be breathed in during sweeping of the floor or in a windy situation.
It spreads from person to person through direct contact with body fluids-saliva, nasal discharge, blood of infected persons.

3.When Do You Suspect You May Have Lassa Fever?
The symptoms of Lassa Fever are similar to those of malaria or typhoid fever and that is what makes it very dangerous.
Fever, headache, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea, yellowness of the eye balls are the symptoms. As the disease progresses, some organs may fail; bleeding may occur into the skin or/and from gums, nose, into the eyes.

4.What Can Put You at Risk.
Health workers are most at risk. Others include residents of farm houses which are likely to harbour bush rats associated with Lassa fever.

5.Possible Complications of Lassa Fever
The commonest complication of Lassa Fever is deafness. Others include abortion, organ failure and about 1% of all infections end up in death.

6.Prevention
  Prevention is by:
a.)Reduce contact with rats.
b.)Barrier nursing-use of masks, gloves, gowns, goggles etc when attending to infected persons.
c.)Isolation of infected persons
d.)Food hygiene—food must be covered, protected from rats.
e.)Desist from eating rats.
f.)Maintaining a clean house and environment.

culled from truhealthonline.com and google definition by WHO www.who.int/csr/disease/lassafever/en/