Containing current lassa fever outbreaks in nigeria. Lassa fever is a disease that is spread primarily by rats. The lassa virus is transmitted to humans mainly through handling rats, food or household items contaminated by rats urine and. The virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. Generally these things go away within 710 days, but if you find that after even 2 weeks your fever is still there, then you should seek medical attention. Yellow fever causes 200,000 infections and 30,000 deaths every year with nearly 90% of these occurring in africa. Yellow fever is caused by infection with yellow fever virus yfv, a flavivirus in the same family as west nile virus and dengue virus. Historical lassa fever reports and 30year clinical update.
African swine fever virus asfv is a doublestranded dna virus that causes a lethal hemorrhagic disease of domestic swine. Laboratory diagnosis of yellow fever virus infection. While lassa fever is mild or has no observable symptoms in about 80% of people infected with the virus, the remaining 20% have a more severe multisystem disease. H1n1 the h1n1 virus, or swine flu, is an unusual virus in that it sometimes does not cause flulike fevers in some victims. Viral hemorrhagic fevers, ebola, marburg virus, lassa. The 2014 west africa ebola outbreak, which was the biggest outbreak in history. Neighboring countries are also at risk, as the animal vector for lassa virus, the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis is distributed throughout the region. Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. Dengue virus infections page 2 of 11 dengue virus infections overview 1, 2, 3, 7 dengue, a flavivirus, is a potentially fatal,acute febrile illness transmitted by mosquitoes. He creates music with akai mpc2000xl and korg triton right in front of the audience. Read all 2118 questions with answers, advice and tips about fever virus in children from moms communities. A viral infection is caused by a small infectious organism called the virus.
There is no risk of primary infection with lassa virus in community settings in the. Viruses are generally passed on by contact with an infected person or infected objects. Molecular characterization of a new lassa virus strain. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. Tulane researchers robert garry and james robinson wont give up until they unravel the mystery of the lassa virus, saving lives from a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever that infects more than 300,000 people annually and is wrecking west african communities. Lassa fever full recovery without ribavarin treatment. Health, general animal carriers of disease research animals as carriers of disease arenaviruses hemorrhagic fever hemorrhagic fevers lassa fever. Many of those infected by the virus do not develop symptoms. Rockefeller yellow fever commission researchers first isolate the causative agent of yellow fever disease, the yellow fever virus, from a ghanaian patient named asibi. Viral hemorrhagic fevers, ebola, marburg virus, lassa fever toolkit comprehensive medical encyclopedia with treatment. My son has had a fever since monday rangeing from normal to 104. Lassa antibody and antigen were found in 96 11% and 46 5%, respectively, of 884 tested mastomys demby et al.
Lassa virus causes lassa fever, an acute viral haemorrhagic fever vhf. The initial, and currently only, outbreak of lujo virus in septemberoctober 2008 left 45 patients dead. When symptoms occur they typically include fever, weakness, headaches, vomiting, and muscle pains. As with any medical condition, if you suspect you are ill from a virus, you should seek medical attention immediately. Infection with lassa virus in humans may take many forms. We report cases of lf among pregnant women which were managed at the university college hospital, ibadan. Interview with the editors virus research special issue. Knowing the viruses that can cause symptoms without a fever is important to your health. Yellow fever virus is found in subtropical and tropical areas in africa and south america.
Yellow fever is a very rare cause of illness in american. Baseline mapping of lassa fever virology, epidemiology and. Health workers may be infected by direct contact with blood, body fluids, urine, or stool of a patient with lassa fever. Yellow fever virus ns3 plays an essential role in virus. The yellow fever virus is transmitted when a mosquito bites an infected monkey and then bites a human being. Viral hemorrhagic fevers, ebola, marburg virus, lassa fever toolkit comprehensive medical encyclopedia with treatment options, clinical data, and practical information two cdrom set u. Yellow fever virus yfv represents a reemerging zoonotic pathogen, transmitted by mosquito vectors to humans from primate.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers lassa, marburg, ebola, crimeancongo, and other emerging viruses what are they. Viral haemorrhagic fevers caused by lassa, ebola and. Lassa fever is an animalborne, or zoonotic, acute viral illness. Travelers to nigeria should avoid contact with rats, especially rat urine and feces, and keep their accommodations or campsites clean. Classification of the causative agent african swine fever virus asfv is a dna virus in the asfarviridae family. The reservoir, or host, of lassa virus is a rodent known as the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis. Viral genotypes have been identified by sequence analysis. Dengue is a major public health problem in the tropics and subtropics. Vertigo in this patient has persisted for 30 years.
A history of contact with excreta of rodents or with a probable or confirmed case of lassa fever. Fever is the only symptom it still sounds viralviral infections dont have to present with the symptoms youve mentioned. Possibly a week with 1 virus, a weeks break, and a. Lassa fever in nigeria watch level 1, practice usual. Now before i get any remarks as to take him to the hospital because 104. Symptoms of lassa fever typically occur 221 days after coming into contact with the virus. Lassa fever is one of the hemorrhagic fever viruses like ebola virus, marburg virus, and others unlike ebola virus, lassa fever is not as contagious person to person, nor as deadly lassa virus is typically transmitted by the urine or feces of mastomys rats to humans. Rift valley fever dengue shock syndrome lassa fever health protection agency marburg virus these keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. In general, the symptoms begin 1 to 2 days following infection with a virus that causes gastroenteritis and may last for 1 to 10 days, depending on which virus causes the illness. Lassa fever in the netherlands ex sierra leone ecdc. The lassa virus is a zoonotic or animalborne virus and the animal vector is the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis. The virus is a singlestranded rna virus and is a member of the arena virus family. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Lassa fever was first discovered in nigeria, when two missionary nurses became ill with the virus in 1969. The reservoir of the lassa virus is a rodent of the genus mastomys known as. Containing current lassa fever outbreaks in nigeria the. It has a high economic impact in those countries affected, and currently threatens pig farming in africa and endangers the pig industry worldwide. Yellow fever was previously a major public health concern in the united states and was responsible for several large outbreaks in florida during the 1700s and 1800s. These viruses affect multiple organs in the body by damaging the vascular blood vessel system. Yellow fever virus yfv florida department of health. It is endemic in parts of west africa including sierra leone, liberia, guinea and nigeria. The name chikungunya, which means that which bends up, is derived from the kimakonde language of the makonde people. This african tribe lives on the eastern border between mozambique and tanzania, where chikungunya virus was first. Smallpox isan acute virus infection, and, in spite of views sometimes. Laboratory criteria for diagnosis isolation of virus only in laboratory of biosafety level 4 from blood, urine or throat. Health care workers are again reminded that lassa fever presents initially like any other disease causing a febrile illness such as malaria.
Pdf understanding lassa fever virus and diversification. East african virus research institute, entebbe, uganda. Such infections are often asymptomatic, but in those who become ill, the disease can range from an uncomplicated fever of unknown origin to a fulminating hemorrhagic disease. Lassa fever virus was first identified in 1969 in nigeria. Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease that commonly manifests as an acute viral hemorrhagic fever. Clinicians should take caution when diagnosing a child who has a high fever and whose tests show evidence of adenovirus, and not assume the virus is responsible for kawasakilike symptoms. Lassa virus, the causative agent of lassa fever, is a member of the family arenaviridae. Here, based on studies using a yfv repliconbased transpackaging system as well as fulllength yfv cdna, we report that mutation of a.
Lassa fever lf is a zoonotic disease associated with acute and potentially fatal hemorrhagic illness caused by the lassa virus lasv, a member of the family arenaviridae. The yellow fever virus yfv belongs to the genus flavivirus and is related to other viruses of the same. Lassa fever faq the south african national travel health. Anchorsong is the solo project by masaaki yoshida from tokyo, japan. Doctors give trusted, helpful answers on causes, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and more. Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a group of illnesses causes by several viruses. Lassa fever, also known as lassa hemorrhagic fever lhf, is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the lassa virus. Nigerian health officials have declared an outbreak of lassa fever in nigeria. The animal vector for the disease is the multimammate rat, which can be found throughout subsaharan africa, except for the southwestern portion of the continent.
The animal reservoir of the lassa fever virus is a rat, mastomys natalensis. Lassa virus was discovered in 1969 by a team led by dr. A viral hemorrhagic fever is an alternate theory of the cause of the black death and the plague of justinian. Chikungunya fever, viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes that is characterized by fever, headache, rash, and severe joint and muscle pain. Viral microbes also live on infected surfaces for up to 48 hours and contact with the surfaces could lead to a viral infection and fever.
Nigeria beat ebola, but its having a hard time vanquishing a deadly lassa fever outbreak. Less commonly there may be bleeding from the mouth or gastrointestinal tract. Lassa fever outbreak update, 24 january 2018 nigeria. Lassa fever virus lasv causes acute viral haemorrhagic fever with symptoms similar to those seen with. Goats and soda spread mainly by rodents, lassa is a perennial but small problem. Lassa fever is endemic in most parts of sierra leone. Yellow fever outbreak kills 146 people in angola, who says. Virus that causes high fever in children things you didn. Classification of the causative agent resistance to.
Anchorsong with string quartet no virus, no fever youtube. Lassa fever is a viral illness that typically occurs in west africa. What you need to know about lassa fever 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april estimated number of lassa fever cases in west africa each year death rate from ebola death rate from lassa fever estimated number of deaths lassa fever is caused by a virus that is found in west africa. Lassa virus, an old world arenavirus family arenaviridae, is the etiological agent of lassa fever, a severe human disease that is reported in more than 100,000 patients annually in the endemic regions of west africa with mortality rates for hospitalized patients varying between 510%. Five cases of lassa fever have been imported from west africa to the united states since 1969. Introduction to lassa fever world health organization.
The disease is caused by yellow fever virus and is spread by the bite of an infected female mosquito. It was first described in northeastern nigeria in 1969, and it is endemic in west africa 1. The multimammate mouse mastomys natalensis is the only known nonhuman host for lassa virus monath et al. Lassa fever occurs naturally in the west african countries of. Webmd symptom checker helps you find the most common medical conditions indicated by the symptoms cough, fatigue, fever and muscle weakness including common cold, bronchitis, and lack of exercise. The virus is a member of the arenaviridae virus family and is a singlestranded rna, zoonotic virus. Report of 2 cases seen at the university college hospital, ibadan.
Lassa fever lf is a viral hemorrhagic disease caused by the lassa virus lasv and endemic in west african countries with an estimation of 300,000 to 500,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. We report symptoms of the patient with the second imported case and the symptoms and longterm followup on the patient with the third case. The disease was first described in the 1950s, and the virus was. Viral hemorrhagic fevers lassa, marburg, ebola, crimean. Lassa virus is a virulent and highly transmissible rna virus that belongs to the arenavirus group. The asibi yellow fever virus strain is still widely used by scientists today. Pathophysiology and treatment of lassa fever springerlink. Idris explained that lassa fever is an acute viral infection caused by the lassa virus that is associated with symptoms such as. Lassa fever is a viral illness that occurs in west africa. Once infected, this rodent is able to excrete virus in urine.
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