What are the causes of Lassa Fever? While there was fear due to the Corona epidemic worldwide, new outbreak news came from Nigeria. As a result of the epidemic called Lassa fever, 41 people died in a month across the country. It is an acute viral disease in West Africa.
This name was given because the first cases were seen in the Lassa region of Nigeria. It is a single strand RNA virus, belonging to the active Arenaviridae family. The number of people who died in the Lassa fever epidemic in Nigeria since the beginning of January rose to 41. In a statement from the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC), 258 people have been diagnosed with Lassa fever since 1 January in investigations in 19 different regions of the country.
While the epidemic is thought to be caused by mouse feces and urine, it is stated that the dry air effective in January in the country caused an increase in the number of cases. Here, we will explain the causes and symptoms of Lassa Fever in the following text.
Lassa Fever Causes
The infection of the Lassa virus to humans occurs most often through food and respiration. Infection can develop by direct contact with the interests (urine, feces) of Mastomys rodents, touching objects contaminated by the interests, eating contaminated food, or exposure to open sores and cuts. It can also be transmitted by inhaling infected small particles that enter the air during vacuuming of rodent environments, and additionally when rodents are caught and prepared for consumption as food.
There is the transmission from person to person (by contact with the sick person’s blood, tissue, secretion, and interests). Especially in health care units, the transition from person to person is common if adequate personal protective measures are not taken (nosocomial infection). Lassa virus can also spread through contaminated medical materials such as needles and syringes that are used repeatedly.
Lassa Fever Symptoms
Symptoms of Lassa Fever can occur 1-3 weeks after contact with the virus. Signs are generally mild and undiagnosed in approximately 80% of patients. Mild symptoms are mild fever, headache, and weakness. Symptoms can become serious in 20% of infected people. It is possible to develop bleeding (such as gums or nosebleeds), respiratory distress, recurrent vomiting, facial edema, chest, back, abdominal pain, and shock. Neurological problems such as encephalitis, tremors, and hearing loss have also been described.
Within two weeks of the appearance of the first symptoms, death due to multiple organ failure may occur (15-20% of hospitalized cases). The mortality rate is higher in pregnant women who have the disease, especially in the third trimester. Spontaneous abortion is a serious complication that results in the death of 95% of the fetuses of infected mothers. The most common complication of Lassa Fever is deafness. Approximately 1/3 of the cases have varying degrees of deafness and are permanent in most.
|Coronavirus Causes and Symptoms|
Lassa Fever Diagnosis and Treatment
Symptoms in Lassa Fever are very different and not specific to the disease. Therefore, clinical diagnosis is often difficult. Serological tests are most often used for diagnosis. Successful results are obtained with Ribavirin, an antiviral drug in the treatment. The drug is very effective if given early in the disease. Patients should also receive supportive therapy for symptoms.
