What You Need To Know About Lassa Fever!
The past six weeks has been plagued by the continued spread of Lassa fever. According to Guardian, 41 Nigerians have been killed by this viral disease.
Lassa fever was first discovered in Borno state, Nigeria about 47 years ago and was named after the town it was discovered.
Lassa fever is also known as the bleeding fever as it causes hemorrhage. It is caused by the Lassa virus and it is zoonotic in nature i.e animal borne (rats in particular) and has the same characteristics as the Ebola and Marburg fever.
The last outbreak was in 2012 and it caused about 45 deaths in 15 states.
Humans are infected either from contact with an infected rat or inhalation of air contaminated with rat excretions and it is contagious. It can be transmitted from one human to another through direct contact with infected human blood excretions and secretions, including sexual contact and breast milk transmission. It is typically spread through aerosolized virus particles, from either infected rodents (Mastomys natalensis) or close contact with infected individuals and it has an incubation period of five to twenty one days with its symptoms showing after ten days of infection.
The symptoms are usually mild and undiagnosed; the non-specific ones include fever, facial swelling, and muscle fatigue, as well as conjunctivitis and mucosal bleeding while the other symptoms arising from the affected organs are: Gastrointestinal tract; Nausea, Vomiting (bloody), Diarrhea (bloody), Stomach ache, Constipation, Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), Hepatitis. Cardiovascular system; Pericarditis, Hypertension, Hypotension, Tachycardia (abnormally high heart rate, Respiratory tract, Cough, Chest pain, Dyspnoea, Pharyngitis, Pleuritis. Nervous system; Encephalitis, Meningitis, Unilateral or bilateral hearing deficit, Seizures.
Lassa fever is usually difficult to diagnose as it can be mistaken for malaria. One out of five of infected persons may develop more serious symptoms that include hemorrhaging of the eyes, gums, or nose – repeated vomiting, respiratory distress, pain in the back, chest and abdomen, facial swelling and shock. The most common complication of Lassa fever is deafness. 15 to 20{54d2fcdcd494adb6982253be6fe8d5492e5f586157f419110131714f9092ec60} of persons hospitalized for the fever actually die from it. There is presently no effective preventive treatment for Lassa fever but a drug called Ribavirin is used for people at high risk as a result of the infection. It has been proven most effective when administered early in the course of the illness. The major prevention of the Lassa virus is avoiding contact with rats, putting food away in rat-proof containers, keeping the home clean help while discouraging rats from entering the home and definitely not consuming rats. Lassa fever has so far infected 10 states in Nigeria including Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Oyo and is suspected to be in Lagos.