The Disease,Lassa fever.

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(Mastomys natalensis)

      Lassa fever  is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria. The Lassa Fever is a member of the arenaviridiae virus famil. Similar to Ebola, clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade but had not been connected with a viral pathogen. The infection is endemic in West African countries, and causes 300,000–500,000 cases annually, with approximately 5,000 deaths.Outbreaks of the disease have been observed in Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Central African Republic, but it is believed that human infections also exist in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and Senegal. The primary animal host of the Lassa virus is the Natal Multimammate Mouse (Mastomys natalensis), an animal indigenous to most of Sub-Saharan Africa.The virus is probably transmitted by contact with the feces or urine of animals accessing grain stores in residences.

      A total of 100,000 lives have been lost to the disease between 1969 and 2013 according to sources(Dniss Agbonlahor former Vice Chancellor AAU Edo State).

        

How to Prevent Lassa Fever

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How the disease is spread:

• Mastomys rodent, aka "multimammate rat":
  
  
  • The rodents cast off the virus through urine and feces.
  • Humans come into contact with the virus by touching objects that have been contaminated. If the person has an open sore or cut, the virus is more easily spread.
  • A person may get the virus by inhaling particles in the air contaminated with rodent excretions.
  • Rodents scavenge on food remains (garbage) or poorly stored food, thereby contaminating human food sources.
  • The rodent is sometimes used as a food source in extremely impoverished areas.
• Person-to-person:
  
  
  • Contact with the virus in the blood, tissue, excretions, or secretions of someone infected with the Lassa virus.
  • Contaminated medical equipment.

How to prevent the spread of the virus:

• Avoid contact with rodents in the regions where outbreaks frequently take place.
• Store all food products in rodent-proof containers.
• Keep your home clean. Dispose of all food remains in a sealed container or burn them, if possible. Keep water sources covered. Do not leave pet food or scraps lying about.
• Set up traps to reduce the rat population (*Note - the massive population of Mastomys in Africa makes complete control of this rodent improbable).
• When providing health care to someone infected with the disease, wear protective clothing - such as masks, gloves, gowns, and eye goggles.
• Make certain that all medical equipment has been properly sterilized.
• Isolate infected patients from contact with others until the fever has run its course.
• Destroy all waste materials used in caring for Lassa fever patients.

Warnings:

• Approximately 15%-20% of people hospitalized for Lassa fever die from the illness.
• The virus is especially severe late in pregnancy, killing the fetus and/or the mother in more than 80% of cases.
• Lassa fever is particularly dangerous for pregnant women. If you know you are pregnant, do not travel to areas where the fever is endemic.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/lassaf.htm

We Nigerians are very Negligent people and do not take issues like this seriously, lots if lives have been lost, more still to be lost because of our callous attitudes towards our environments and towards our health, Please pass this on and help save a life,thank you for reading< Goodbye>.