Lassa fever or Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State in Nigeria.The virus is similar to ebola. The primary animal host of Lassa fever virus Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis),an animal found in most sub-saharan Africa.
The virus is probably transmitted by contact with the faeces or urine of animals accessing grain stores in residences. Given its high rate of incidence, this virus is a major problem in affected countries like Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria Sierra Leone all in West Africa.
Signs and symptoms
This disease shows no symptoms in 80% of cases, but in the remaining 20%.
About 5 thousand people die from this disease every year. Lassa virus affects almost every system in the body and the symptoms depends on the affected organ.
The most common ones include: bleeding from the gums, conjunctivitis, swollen face,high grade fever. other symptoms include: vomiting, difficulty in swallowing, stomach ache, hepatitis,cough,sore throat,chest pain, meningitis convulsions.
cause
Rats are the natural reservoir of the Lassa virus, ubiquitous in human households and eaten as a delicacy in some areas.
The Lassa virus is zoonotic ( transmitted from animals to man).the virus shed in their excreta which can be aerosolized
Infection in humans typically occurs by exposure to animal excrement through the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts. Inhalation of tiny particles of infectious material is believed to be the most significant means of exposure.it is possible to acquire the virus through broken skin or mucous membranes that are directly exposed to infectious material. Transmission from human to human has also been established.
prevention
Control of the rat population is quite impractical, so measures are limited to:
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