“The Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity was informed on May 1, 2024 of a confirmed case of Lassa fever”, present the health authorities in a communiqué. This viral hemorrhagic fever “is endemic in several West African countries, where it infects 100 to 300,000 people per year, of whom 5 to 6,000 die” explains the Institut Pasteur website. Currently, the state of health of the patient, hospitalized in Ile-de-France, “do not inspire concern”.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity, the patient is a soldier returning from abroad. “A thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to determine the people who may have been in risky contact with the patient”we can read in the press release.
Lassa fever: what is this disease and how is it transmitted?
Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever, which is transmitted to humans by “contact with the excrement of a small peri-domestic rodent called Mastomysnatalensis (urine, feces). Many of these rodents live near or even inside homes, and their infection rate can be up to 80″, writes the Pasteur Institute, which emphasizes that “the virus can also be transmitted from human to human, mainly in a hospital context, through skin-mucosal contact with a patient’s biological fluids”.
In the press release, the health authorities specify that “the risk of secondary cases occurring is therefore limited to people who have had direct contact with the patient’s biological fluids, in particular the healthcare personnel who took care of them”. Also, “contact persons at risk have been contacted by the health authorities to advise them of what action to take.”
This disease is endemic in several regions, notably Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. But “Lassa fever is the hemorrhagic fever most frequently imported into northern countries, with more than twenty cases recorded since 1969”, continues the Pasteur Institute.
What are the symptoms of Lassa fever?
In people affected by this disease, symptoms begin 6 to 21 days after infection “by non-specific clinical signs”. Although the majority of cases are asymptomatic (80%), symptoms can however worsen.
- a fever,
- vomitings,
- headaches (headache),
- myalgia (muscle pain),
- arthralgia (joint pain),
- of asthenia (tiredness).
People who have been in contact with the patient are asked “if symptoms appear, including fever, isolate yourself and contact the doctor in charge of their follow-up”insist the health authorities who specify that it “It is advisable to monitor the appearance of symptoms for 21 days after the last risky contact”.
Press release 🗞️ | A case of Lassa fever confirmed in Île-de-France: health authorities fully mobilized ⤵️
— Ministry of Health and Prevention (@Sante_Gouv) May 2, 2024
Sources :
- A case of Lassa fever confirmed in Île-de-France: health authorities fully mobilized – Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity (05/2/2024)
- Lassa fever – Institut Pasteur
