A highly infectious and often fatal virus disease found in Central and West Africa, causing high fever, pains, and ulcers in the mouth [After a village in northern Nigeria where the fever was first reported].
Highly contagious viral disease, largely confined to central West Africa; it is characterized by fever, inflammation of the pharynx, difficulty in swallowing, and bruises, frequently with the complication of renal failure leading to cardiac failure and death.
A serious systemic (body-wide) infection caused by a virus. Lassa fever involves most of the principal internal organs but not the central nervous system. A small rat found in Africa carries the virus that causes the illness; Lassa fever was first identified in Lassa, Nigeria, in 1969. Transmission to humans is believed to occur most commonly from contamination of food with rodent urine. Person-to-person transmission is known to occur via contact with urine, feces, saliva, vomit, or blood. Outbreaks in Nigeria and Liberia were hospital-associated and transmitted from one infected patient to hospital staff and other patients.
A serious virus disease confined to Central West Africa. After an incubation period of 3-21 days, headache, high fever, and severe muscular pains develop; difficulty in swallowing often arises. Death from kidney or heart failure occurs in over 50% of cases. Treatment with plasma from recovered patients is the best therapy.
First reported in Lassa, in Nigeria, and caused by an arenavirus transmitted by rodents or directly from an infected person. The incubation period is 3-21 days. The disease is characterized by headache, lethargy and severe muscular pains, and there is often a rash due to bleeding into the skin and mucous membranes. Sore throat is often present. It may carry a high mortality rate, particularly in pregnant women, and there is no specific treatment.
A potentially lethal viral illness marked by hemorrhage, extreme muscle pain, and in some cases shock. It is contracted solely in Africa. The responsible agent, an arenavirus, is spread to people after contact with infected rodents or their excretions. Each year, approx. 300,000 people are infected.
Lassa fever is a severe infectious disease stemming from a virus carried by rodents. Mainly found in West Africa, it spreads through exposure to the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents. After a three to 21-day incubation period, symptoms like fever, headache, muscle pain, and sore throat manifest. These can escalate to intense diarrhea and vomiting. In critical cases, it can result in deadly heart or kidney complications. The antiviral drug ribavirin and a serum with virus-specific antibodies are used for treatment.