Lassa fever

Lassa fever could be both symptomatic and asymptomatic. The symptoms of Lassa fever are extremely varied and non-specific, which makes diagnosis very difficult. These are:

• Fever
• Ringing in ears
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea
• Muscle pain
• Sore throat
• General weakness
• Cough
• Abdominal pain
• Fluid in the lung cavity 
• Bleeding (from the gastrointestinal tract or vagina)
• Bleeding from mouth or nose
• Low blood pressure

In later stages, the symptoms may be very complex, including:

• Shock
• Seizures
• Tremors (a type of movement disorder)
• Disorientation
• Loss of hearing
• Coma

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever. The natural hosts for the Lassa virus are Mastomys rats. Typically, transmission occurs when people touch something that has the urine or faeces or saliva of these rats and then don't practise good hand hygiene, or when these rodents contaminate the food or water. Health workers may also get infected by coming in contact with blood work or body fluids of an infected patient.

The doctor may order a few tests to confirm a diagnosis of Lassa fever:

• The most common tool for diagnosing Lassa fever are ELISA antigen assays. A diagnostician will draw a small amount of the patient's blood for this test. 
• Cell culture takes around seven to 10 days and may be done. However, this procedure should only take place in a high containment laboratory with good laboratory practices.
• RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) test can also detect the presence of this virus.

The most effective treatment in the case of Lassa fever includes giving ribavirin, an antiviral drug, intravenously, especially early in the disease. Along with this, supportive care including fluids, electrolytes and oxygen should also be given to the patient. Treatment of complicating infections, if any, is also a must.

Lassa virus is a viral illness that is spread among humans through rodents. Recovery or death occurs within a week to 31 days of the appearance of symptoms. However, sometimes the patient may be asymptomatic. In severe cases, especially those involving multi-system diseases, the fatality rate increases. No vaccine for Lassa fever is available yet.