Iowa resident dies of rare Lassa fever, officials say

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A resident of japanese Iowa who had just lately traveled to West Africa died after catching Lassa fever, state officers stated Monday. The virus, which is in the identical viral hemorrhagic fever class as Ebola, isn’t seen in america.

The Iowa Division of Well being and Human Companies announced the loss of life Monday however didn’t launch the particular person’s identify and disclosed few particulars about them. Preliminary assessments had been presumptively optimistic for the virus, and the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention is working to verify the analysis.

The division stated the particular person was middle-aged and had traveled to West Africa, the place it’s believed they contracted the virus.

The present threat of transmission in america is “extremely low,” in accordance with Iowa State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse.

Every year, about 100,000 to 300,000 individuals turn into contaminated with Lassa fever in West Africa, the place the illness is endemic, in accordance with the Middle for Infectious Illness Analysis & Coverage on the University of Minnesota. Since 1969, there have been solely eight recognized instances within the US, all of them travel-related.

It’s even rarer for somebody to die from Lassa fever. The illness has an total fatality price of simply 1%, in accordance with the World Health Organization.

In extreme instances, the affected person might have bleeding; issue respiration; ache within the chest, again and stomach; and vomiting.

Somebody with milder signs might develop a slight fever, really feel drained or have a headache. Most people who find themselves contaminated with Lassa virus haven’t any signs in any respect.

Lassa fever can unfold between people however not by means of informal contact. Usually, the virus spreads solely when somebody comes into contact with an contaminated particular person’s bodily fluids.

Lassa fever mostly spreads by means of the multimammate rat in West Africa. Folks can get sick after touching objects contaminated with rat feces or urine, or after consuming meals that’s been contaminated. Some individuals additionally get sick after consuming the rats themselves, in accordance with the CDC.

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Immediate remedy is taken into account key for Lassa fever. Ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral that works nicely towards RNA viruses and can be used to deal with hepatitis C, is the first remedy.

Kruse stated his division is investigating and monitoring the scenario at the side of the CDC and native public well being companions. The businesses try to find out who might have had shut contact with the affected person, who had been handled in isolation on the College of Iowa Well being Care Medical Middle.

The CDC says the affected person was not sick whereas touring, so the chance to different airline passengers is extraordinarily low.

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