Imported Lassa Fever in Germany: Surveillance and Management of Contact Persons

Haas, Walter; Breuer, Thomas; Pfaff, G.; Schmitz, Herbert; Köhler, Päivi; Asper, Marcel; Emmerich, Petra; Drosten, Christian; Gölnitz, Uta; Fleischer, K; Günther, Stephan

doi:10.1086/374853

Cited by 137 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

132

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, none of the health workers who participated in the management of the patient were infected. This agrees with previous findings that Lassa virus is not as infectious as it is always suspected-previous observations have shown that even repeated, often intimate contact of Lassa fever patients described by family members often fail to transmit the infection 12,13 . It was not pos-…”

supporting

confidence: 93%

Lassa fever – full recovery without ribavarin treatment: a case report

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Lassa fever is a rodent-borne zoonosis that clinically manifests as an acute hemorrhagic fever. It is treated using ribavarin. Surviving Lassa fever without receiving the antiviral drug ribavarin is rare. Only few cases have been documented to date. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 59-year old female with fever who was initially thought to have acute pyelonephritis and sepsis syndrome with background malaria. Further changes in her clinical state and laboratory tests led to a suspicion of Lassa fever. However at the time her laboratory confirmatory test for Lassa fever returned, her clinical state had improved and she made full recovery without receiving ribavarin. Her close contacts showed no evidence of Lassa virus infection. Conclusion: This report adds to the literature on the natural history of Lassa fever; and that individuals may survive Lassa fever with conservative management of symptoms of the disease and its complications.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 93%

Lassa fever – full recovery without ribavarin treatment: a case report

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Understandably, aside the near absence of the natural reservoir or host animal (M. natalensis) of Lassa virus in the aforementioned areas, availability of highly developed environmental hygiene and sanitation, as well as large scale accessibility to advance and wellmanaged social and healthcare infrastructure appear to greatly influence the low risk status of those industrialized countries of the West [15,17]. Nonetheless, there have been sporadic cases of Lassa fever outbreak among travellers and tourists returning from endemic regions to Europe and America [16,18,19].…”

Section: Epidemiological Trend Of Lassa Fevermentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Lassa fever, an emerging old world haemorrhagic viral disease in sub-Saharan Africa

Azeez-Akande¹

2016

Af J Clin Exp Micro

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lassa fever is an acute immunosuppressive illness of increasing public health concern causing severe morbidity and significant mortality (Case fatality rate (CFR) ≥ 50%) especially in epidemic cases. Although Lassa fever has emerged (following its first detection (1969) in Lassa town, Nigeria) as one of the most prevalent and debilitating viral haemorrhagic fevers endemic in West Africa region (Nigeria inclusive), yet, the control/prevention of the regular outbreak of the disease has become an herculean task in the areas affected; there is inadequate healthcare facility (including Laboratory/diagnostic and care centres), poor socioeconomic environment, lack of awareness among the populace and presence of favourable ecologic niche for the survival and propagation of the natural host and reservoir mouse (Mastomys natalensis) of Lassa virus . Lassa fever is mainly transmitted by contact with excretions and secretions of infected rats via foods and water as well as exposure to other contaminated items. Lassa virus is a member of an Old World Arenariruses, of family Arenaviridae. It is an enveloped, single-stranded (SS) bisegmented RNA virus with ability to replicate very rapidly. It consists of 4 lineages; 3 members are identified as ancenstral strains found in Nigeria, while the fourth is domiciled in other West Africa Countries. Lassa virus infects almost every tissue in human body resulting in multisystemic dysfunction. The incubation period is generally between 6 to 21 days resulting in 3 stages of clinical manifestation viz: Acute phase characterized by flu-like, non-specific illness; haemorrhagic phase accompanied with gastrointestinal symptoms and cardiovascular/neurologic complications. Currently, there is no clinically certified Lassa fever vaccine thus complicating deterrent or preventive measures. Hence, there is need for intensification of educational programs for the populace on the useful control measures against Lassa fever. The stakeholders need to prioritize intervention and support program and also speed up the processes leading to the production of effective vaccine to limit the menace of Lassa fever outbreak and associated morbidity, fatality and high socio-economic cost.

show abstract

“…Isolation precautions for patients with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever have been published in the United States and other countries. 56,57,70,90 Caregivers must be educated regarding the proper use of barrier precautions to prevent contact with infectious materials, especially blood and urine from patients.…”

Section: 100mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cases have been reported from numerous areas in which the virus is not endemic, including the United States. [53][54][55][56][57][58] For example, in October 2004, a New Jersey resident died of Lassa fever after returning from a visit to West Africa. 58 As a result, an intensive public health investigation was conducted to identify and monitor high-risk contacts because of the risk of person-to-person transmission.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%