- Lassa fever is an acute viral illness and viral hemorrhagic fever.
- It is also a zoonotic disease transmitted to man by infected multi-mammate rats.
- Humans become infected from direct contact with the urine and faeces of the rat which contains the virus, through touching soiled objects, eating contaminated food or exposure to open sores or cuts.
- Transmission from person to person can occur following exposure to the virus in the blood, tissue, urine, faeces or other body secretions of an infected individual.
Symptoms and signs
- Fever
- Muscle Aches
- Head Ache
- Bleeding
- Sore Throat
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Chest and Abdominal pain.
Prevention of Lassa fever
- Promoting good “community hygiene”
- Discourage rodents from entering homes
- Effective measures include storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers
- Disposing of garbage far from the home
- Maintaining clean households
- Care givers should always be careful to avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons.
- In health-care settings, staff should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for sick patients such as basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, use of personal protective equipment.
Treatment
- Drug of choice is Ribavirin.
