Lassa Fever
什麼是Lassa Fever
Lassa fever is a serious viral infection that lasts 1-4 weeks. About 80 percent of the cases are mild or with no symptoms at all. However, the other 20 percent may suffer severe failure of multiple organs. The disease is more severe in pregnancy, and maternal death is common. The overall death rate is about 1 percent, but in severe cases, it can be 15 percent. Lassa fever is associated with epidemics, during which up to 50 percent of the patients might die.
It is estimated that 100,000 to 300,000 people in west Africa are infected each year with approximately 5,000 deaths.
您如何獲得Lassa Fever？
Wild rodents in western Africa are the source of this virus, and people become infected through direct contact with contaminated rat droppings or urine, or contact with objects or eating food contaminated with rat droppings and urine. People may also inhale tiny particles of air contaminated with rodent excretions (airborne transmission).
Lassa fever may also spread from person to person through contact with infected blood, tissues, secretions, or excretions. This kind of transmission is common in health care settings where it can also be spread by contaminated medical equipment.
易感性和抵抗力
Susceptibility is general. The length of duration of immunity after surviving an infection is unknown.
有哪些症狀？
The symptoms include a gradual onset of fatigue, fever, headache, sore throat, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle aches and chest pain. The fever is intermittent and often spikes to high levels. In severe cases, complications can include loss of blood pressure, haemorrhaging, seizures, and brain inflammation due to different organs being affected.
預防措施
避免與攜帶這種疾病的囓齒動物接觸是預防的最佳形式。保護食物來源並保持清潔的環境阻止囓齒動物進入家中。在醫院環境中，預防措施包括穿防護服，例如口罩，手套，睡袍和護目鏡，並採取感染控制措施。
治療
Early treatment (within the first 6 days of illness) with the anti-viral drug, Ribavirin, is the most effective therapy available.
驗證
通常在哪裡發生？
拉沙熱在奈及利亞、幾內亞、賴比瑞亞和塞拉里昂隨處可見。它可能存在於西非的其他國家。
