Lassa Fever

11-6-2013 

Mastomys natalensis,
 the natural reservoir of the Lassa fever virus

Two evenings ago I heard loud screams and wailing from a woman’s dorm across the field from my house. The next day a fellow Peace Corps teacher said one of his best students had died in the hospital from Lassa fever. The student was in his class and had not missed a class until being hospitalized. I had never heard of Lassa fever so I began to find out more about it.

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever of the Ebola variety in West Africa. Studies show up to a half a million cases per year, about 5,000 resulting in death. In 80% of cases, the disease is unapparent, but in the remaining 20%, it takes a complicated course. It is estimated that the virus is responsible for about 5,000 deaths annually. The fever accounts for up to one third of deaths in hospitals within the affected regions and 10 to 16% of total cases.

The virus is spread in the urine and feces of a ubiquitous household mouse. People often get the virus by eating contaminated food. The virus is contagious with a fatality rate of 50% for those people hospitalized. Hospital workers are warned to wear protective clothing, gloves, and masks, all which should be destroyed after being in contact with the patient. Medicines exist for those exposed or in the early stages of the fever. Incubation period is from six to twenty-one days which means you probably never can find out where you got the virus.

In places like Liberia, identification of the fever is difficult because early symptoms can be confused with other fevers and laboratories are ill-equipped to identify the virus. Health related news is either non-existent or suppressed.

Why am I writing about Lassa fever? Maybe it is just to ease my own mind. Lassa fever is not something to panic over, but it is just another one of those surprises you find here. At least I have notified the Peace Corps Medical Officer in Monrovia.