Key facts

*Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 1-4 weeks duration that occurs in West Africa.

*The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces.

*Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevent and Control measures.

*Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin (where it was diagnosed for the first time in November 2014), Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria, but probably exists in other West African countries as well.

*The overall case-fatality rate is 1%. Observed case-fatality rate among patients hospitalized with severe cases of Lassa fever is 15%.

*Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival.


Background

Though first described in the 1950s, the virus causing Lassa disease was not identified until 1969. The virus is a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the virus family Arenaviridae .

About 80% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms. One in five infections result in severe disease, where the virus affects several organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys.

Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease, meaning that
humans become infected from contact with infected animals. The animal reservoir, or host, of Lassa virus is a rodent of the genus Mastomys, commonly known as the “multimammate rat.” Mastomys rats infected with Lassa virus do not become ill, but they can shed the virus in their urine and faeces.

Because the clinical course of the disease is so variable, detection of the disease in affected patients has been difficult. However, when presence of the disease is confirmed in a community, prompt isolation of affected patients, good infection protection and control practices
and rigorous contact tracing can stop outbreaks.

Symptoms of Lassa fever

The incubation period of Lassa fever ranges from 6-21 days. The onset of the disease, when it is symptomatic, is usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness, and malaise. After a few days, headache,sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting,diarrhoea, cough, and abdominal pain may follow. In severe cases facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure may develop. Protein may be noted in the urine. Shock,seizures, tremor, disorientation, and coma may be seen in the later stages. Deafness occurs in 25% of patients who survive the disease. In half of these cases, hearing returns partially after 1-3 months. Transient hair loss and gait disturbance may occur during recovery.

Death usually occurs within 14 days of onset in fatal ases. The disease is especially severe late in
pregnancy, with maternal death and/or fetal loss
occurring in greater than 80% of cases during the third trimester.


Transmission

Humans usually become infected with Lassa virus from exposure to urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats.Lassa virus may also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces, or other bodily secretions of a person infected with Lassa fever. There is no epidemiological evidence supporting airborne spread between humans. Person-to-person
transmission occurs in both community and health-care settings, where the virus may be spread by contaminated medical equipment, such as re-used needles. Sexual transmission of Lassa virus has been reported.

Lassa fever occurs in all age groups and both sexes.Persons at greatest risk are those living in rural areas where Mastomys are usually found, especially in communities with poor sanitation or crowded living conditions. Health workers are at risk if caring for Lassa fever patients in the absence of proper barrier nursing and infection control practices.

Diagnosis

Because the symptoms of Lassa fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult,especially early in the course of the disease. Lassa fever is difficult to distinguish from other viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola virus disease; and many other diseases that cause fever, including malaria, shigellosis, typhoid fever and yellow fever.

Definitive diagnosis requires testing that is available only in specialized laboratories. Laboratory specimens may be hazardous and must be handled with extreme care. Lassa virus infections can only be diagnosed definitively in the laboratory using the following tests:

*antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA)
*antigen detection tests
*reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) assay
*virus isolation by cell culture.


Treatment and vaccines

The antiviral drug ribavirin seems to be an effective
treatment for Lassa fever if given early on in the course of clinical illness. There is no evidence to support the role of ribavirin as post-exposure prophylactic treatment for Lassa fever.

There is currently no vaccine that protects against
Lassa fever.

Prevention and control

Prevention of Lassa fever relies on promoting good
“community hygiene” to 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 and keeping cats. Because Mastomys are so abundant in endemic areas, it is not possible to completely eliminate them from the environment.

Family members 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 patients, regardless of their presumed diagnosis. These include basic hand hygiene,respiratory hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (to block splashes or other contact with infected materials), safe injection practices and safe burial practices.

Health workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Lassa fever should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the patient’s blood and body fluids and contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothing and bedding. When in close contact (within 1 metre) of patients with Lassa fever, health-care workers should wear face protection (a face shield or a medical mask and goggles), a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown, and gloves (sterile gloves for some procedures).

Laboratory workers are also at risk. Samples taken
from humans and animals for investigation of Lassa virus infection should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably equipped laboratories.

On rare occasions, travellers from areas where Lassa fever is endemic export the disease to other countries.

Although malaria, typhoid fever, and many other tropical infections are much more common, the diagnosis of Lassa fever should be considered in febrile patients returning from West Africa, especially if they have had exposures in rural areas or hospitals in countries where

Lassa fever is known to be endemic. Health-care
workers seeing a patient suspected to have Lassa fever should immediately contact local and national experts for advice and to arrange for laboratory testing.

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs179/en/

Cc: lalasticlala, dominique, sissy3
Pls do the needful

this year, you and I will not experience deadly diseases..





you know what to do to say amen. don't let me beg its too early.

Its a year of SPREADING as declared by one pastor. But it shall not spread to where we are IJN AMEN.

Humans usually become infected with Lassa virus from exposure to urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats.Lassa virus may also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces, or other bodily secretions of a person infected with Lassa fever. There is no epidemiological evidence supporting airborne spread between humans. Person-to-person transmission occurs in both community and health-care settings, where the virus may be spread by contaminated medical equipment, such as re-used needles. Sexual transmission of Lassa virus has been reported

Imagine if this is airborne and gets to a city like Lagos, i really thank God for all his protection in this country even during the Ebola out break.

Chai all these rats wey dey disturb person at night

What kind of new year gift is this

educative!

May God save us........... End Time thing....

May God help Nigeria, The end is at hand!

Where were all this sickness before now? One never heard of it until recently

This informing

Somebody tell NOA and lai that their public tax paid job is not restricted to defending buhari

Operation buy indocide. Mix with sardine and bread

brunofarad:
What kind of new year gift is this

It's not a gift but reckless abandon on the part of the government

Ok

Let be honest Mr. *Lassa fever... This award for 2016 most fearful diseases is not for you.....The award winning is EBOLA..... From HIV to AID turn to EBOLA..... Bleep the shit....... Back to Back.....

Thank God for my Secondary Education at Citadel Int'l College, Ikare, Ondo State. I'm really proudof that school.
As at year 2000 while I was in SSS1, our biology teacher then did thought us about Ebola and Lassa Fever Virus.
I can't imagine now that most Nigerians are just being educated about the viruses.
Anyway, Its better late than never.

Nice one

Timely information

Don't these diseases just go away?

Ebola , Lassa Fever ... They're all modified viruses .
Contact from Rats ? Ebola was bats , HIV monkeys . we are now test subjects to whom ever is doing these

good

What can't kill a Rat killing human ; moral Lesson, not by might or by power

Nawaa oh.














#God_bless_nigeria

ademega:
this year, you and I will not experience deadly diseases..





you know what to do to say amen. don't let me beg its too early.

. Amen. Amen. Amen in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our LORD. The state governments in the affected states should do daily health education campaigns on the street, radio, TV and newspapers. Hausas are perhaps the dirtiest and most unhygienic people in Nigeria. Majority of them seem to enjoy being dirty and living in filthy places. I wonder whether their religion of Islam tells them to live like animals. May God save us from igmorance, because ignorance kills.

Father please save us from this lassa fever like you did with Ebola

God guide and protect ur children oooo

Orikinla:
. Amen. Amen. Amen in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our LORD. The state governments in the affected states should do daily health education campaigns on the street, radio, TV and newspapers. Hausas are perhaps the dirtiest and most unhygienic people in Nigeria. Majority of them seem to enjoy being dirty and living in filthy places. I wonder whether their religion of Islam tells them to live like animals. May God save us from igmorance, because ignorance kills.

my brother this one is strong oh with your bashing.

Jump n pAss

Hold..



Lassa fever was not discovered first in Nigeria in 2014, Benin.

It killed at least a student in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpima, Edo State back in 2009-2010.


However, this piece is nothing short of the info for the day.
Kudos.