Lassa fever outbreak contained in Nigeria

•  Nigeria has announced that it is free from Lassa fever outbreak. The announcement follows the epidemiological review by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

About Lassa fever:

• The disease was first identified in the Nigerian town of Lassa in 1969, after an outbreak in a mission hospital.
• It has since been seen in many West African countries including Ghana, Mali and Sierra Leone.
• Multimammate rodents spread Lassa virus via their urine and droppings. However, this outbreak is causing particular concern because the number of cases is unusually high for the time of year.
• Outbreaks can be influenced by seasonal weather conditions, which affect the numbers of the virus's natural host - the multimammate rat. These small mammals are common across West Africa, where they easily find their way into homes.
• Another possibility is that the high number of cases reflects heightened public awareness. Or it's possible that something about the virus has changed.
• Most people catch Lassa fever from anything contaminated with rat urine, faeces, blood or saliva - through eating, drinking or simply handling contaminated objects in the home.
• The incubation period for Lassa is up to three weeks. Researchers are trying to work out whether - like Ebola - Lassa can stay in the body and be passed on through sexual contact even after illness subsides.
• Most people who catch Lassa will have only mild symptoms such as fever, headache and general weakness. They may have none at all.
• However, in severe cases, it can mimic another deadly haemorrhagic fever, Ebola, causing bleeding through the nose, mouth and other parts of the body.
• Women who contract the disease late in pregnancy face an 80% chance of losing their child, or dying themselves.
• In the early stages it's almost impossible to distinguish from other common diseases like malaria and dengue.
• With no readily available test, the only way to confirm a diagnosis is to analyse a blood or tissue sample in one of small number of specialised laboratories.

By: Vishal