The patient is a soldier who returned from overseas not too long ago. People who come into touch with him and might be at danger are being tracked down.
There has been a case of Lassa disease reported in the Paris area. Lassa virus
is native to West Africa and is transmitted by rats.
The patient is now being treated in the Bégin military hospital in Saint-Mandé
(Val-de-Marne). The patient is a soldier who just returned from overseas.
An "in-depth epidemiological investigation is under way to determine the
persons who may have been in contact with him," according to the Ministry
of Health. His health status was stated as "does not give cause for
concern."
What is Fever Lassa?
The town of Lassa in Nigeria, West Africa, where the disease was initially
discovered and isolated and where a nurse was murdered by it in 1969, is where
the fever gets its name.
Nowadays, instances have been documented in Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, and
it is widespread in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In recent
times, Benin has seen two epidemics: one in 2014 and another in 2016.
In West Africa, the virus kills five to six thousand individuals annually and
infects one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand people. It takes two to
21 days for it to incubate, from infection to symptoms.
According to Sylvain Baize, director of the Institute Pasteur's emerging viral
diseases area, "the virus circulates almost constantly, especially in
Nigeria, which is the worst-affected country," as reported by BFMTV.
"A total of 160 to 180 million people are thought to be at risk."
How is Lassa Fever Transmitted?
Rat droppings from the West African native Natal rat (Mastomys natalensis) are
the source of the virus.
"The virus can also be transmitted from human to human, according to the World Health Organization by:
- Direct contact with the blood,
- Urine,
- Excrement, or
- Other bodily secretions of a contaminated person,"
What Signs of Lassa Fever are Present?
- Eighty percent of the time, it has no symptoms. But for the remaining 20%, symptoms develop gradually and become worse with time. Fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach discomfort, and headaches are a few of them.
- Worse symptoms, such as oedema (fluid accumulation), pleurisy (lung lining inflammation), and oral, nasal, or vaginal bleeding, occur in 15% of patients.
- About 1% of cases result in death from the fever because it causes organ failure. Of those who do not die despite developing severe symptoms, 25% will become deaf and some may have long-term cardiac issues. In one to three months, just half of individuals will regain their hearing.
- It poses a particular risk to expectant mothers.
What is the Lassa Fever Treatment?
There is now just one known therapy. This is ribavirin, an antiviral
medication. For this to be successful, it must be administered very quickly
after infection.
However, by the time the illness is identified, it is sometimes too late to
provide the medication since the fever's symptoms frequently resemble those of
other illnesses, such as dysentery and malaria.
Although encouraging findings from an international phase one study were
reported by the Institute Pasteur in April, there is currently no vaccine
available.
Those who survive this fever sometimes get aftereffects: 25% become deaf. After
one to three months, just half of them regain their hearing.
Read More
