T he aims of our response to this suspected case of Lassa fever were to identify people with high risk exposures to the case, and to institute quarantine surveillance for contacts where necessary. We investigated the exposure histories of people in the same aircraft as the case and also the hospital staff involved in his care. No-one was found to have had a high risk exposure, defined as percutaneous or mucosal contact with the patient's body fluids. A diagnosis of Lassa fever was not ruled out until week five (the final diagnosis appeared to be leptospirosis). This incident was a good opportunity to rehearse the NSW Contingency Plan for Cases of Suspected Quarantinable Diseases. The plan worked well, but will be reviewed in light of our experience.
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