Lassa fever: what it is, symptoms and treatment

Lassa fever is a rare viral infectious disease, uncommon in Brazil, which is transmitted by infected animals, such as spiders and rodents, especially rats from regions such as Africa.

Symptoms of Lassa fever can take up to 3 weeks to appear and, therefore, the person who suspects the disease, after being in Africa, should consult a general practitioner to make the diagnosis and start the appropriate treatment.

Main symptoms

Lassa fever is a serious infectious disease that is characterized by an increase in body temperature and other various symptoms such as:

Muscle pain; Chest and abdominal pain; Sore throat; Bloody diarrhea; Nausea and vomiting with blood.

As the disease progresses, several types of complications can arise, such as encephalitis, hepatitis, meningitis, shock, hemorrhage and seizures, for example.

How to confirm the diagnosis

In some cases, the diagnosis of Lassa fever can be confirmed only by observing the symptoms and assessing the person's travel history. However, as some symptoms can be quite general, the doctor may also order some blood tests to confirm the infection.

How to get

Transmission of Lassa fever occurs through contact, via respiratory or digestive tract, with feces of contaminated animals, such as spiders or mice. However, it can also happen through sores on the skin or mucous membranes, such as eyes and mouth.

Among humans, the transmission of Lassa fever occurs through contact with blood, feces, urine or bodily secretions.

How the treatment is done

Treatment for Lassa fever is done in isolation to prevent transmission of the disease. Therefore, to contact the patient, family members and health professionals must wear protective clothing with gloves, glasses, aprons and masks.

During treatment, injections of antiviral medicine, Ribavirin, are made into the vein to eliminate the disease virus, and the patient must be hospitalized until he stops showing symptoms and excreting the virus.