The peak season for Lassa fever in West Africa
is about to begin. The viral haemorrhagic fever
has been largely forgotten in the Ebola crisis,
and health workers are warning that they may
not have the resources to deal with the
disease if cases increase.
At first sight the symptoms of Lassa are
identical to Ebola. There can be bleeding,
vomiting and fever. But whereas Ebola is a
new outbreak, Lassa is a constant presence.
Every year it infects from 300,000 to 500,000
people, killing up to 20,000.
All of the countries worst hit by Ebola are
home to Lassa fever. On Friday, Dr Geraldine
O'Hara from Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
told the BBC that one of her colleagues had
died of Lassa despite all efforts to save her.
Nigeria may also be seeing its first outbreak
of the season. Only weeks after successfully
containing Ebola, Nigerian media have
reported an outbreak of Lassa in Oyo State.
Lassa fever is transmitted by rats and can
also spread from person-to-person
There is one main difference between an
outbreak of Ebola and Lassa. A Lassa
outbreak is caused by rats. The rodents carry
the disease into homes and food stores,
especially in the dry season running from
November to April.
"We have had literally dozens of cases of
Lassa fever already in the eastern part of
Sierra Leone," said Prof Robert Garry of Tulane
University which has researched Lassa in West
Africa for a decade.
Once infected, Lassa can spread from person-
to-person. Not everyone who catches it
becomes seriously ill, but fatality rates have
been known to be as high as 70%. It is less
easily transmitted than Ebola, but nonetheless
patients must still be treated in complete
isolation.

Why all this mumu disease in west africa


dem no see south and north na west way de recover. From ebola
may god help us

samflexxy:
Why all this mumu disease na west africa


dem no see south and north na west way de recover. From ebola
may god help us

....may god help us

Hadewahlay:
....may god help us

amen oooo