Disclaimer: Copyright infringement not intended.

Context

• One of the three persons diagnosed with Lassa fever in the UK has died on February 11. 

About

• Discovery: The Lassa fever-causing virus is found in West Africa and was first discovered in 1969 in Lassa, Nigeria.
• Transmission: The fever is spread by rats, urine or feces of an infected rat, sick person’s infected bodily fluids or through mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose or the mouth. Person-to-person transmission is more common in healthcare settings.
• Endemic: It is primarily found in countries in West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria where it is endemic.

• Prevention: Avoiding contact with rats not only in places where the disease is endemic, maintaining hygiene, keeping food in rat-proof containers and laying down rat traps.

Download PDF