In the UK, three Britons have contracted this viral haemorrhagic fever. It causes bleeding from the eyes, swelling of the face and nausea and/or vomiting. Should we be worried about the possible spread of the virus?
Mainly present in West Africa, Lassa fever, a virus similar to Ebola, seems to be spreading rapidly in Europe, with the first death recorded in the United Kingdom on Friday February 11, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The three infected people belong to the same family who live in the east of England and are believed to have contracted the virus during a recent trip to West Africa.
Lassa fever is contracted by approximately 100,000 to 300,000 people worldwide and approximately 5,000 people die from it each year, as reported by our colleagues from Science and Life.
Lassa fever is endemic in parts of West Africa, notably in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria ; however, other regions are also exposed to the fact that the Lassa virus vector animal, the “multi-mammalian rat” (Mastomys natalensis), is present throughout the region.
The British authorities want to be reassuring
But the problem with this disease is that most people infected are asymptomatic. The disease begins 6 to 21 days after infection with non-specific clinical signs: fever, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue. Subsequently, the virus can lead to lightning hemorrhagic fever with the onset of swelling, bleeding, heart, lung and brain problems. When the patient dies from it, it is after his organs have failed and after convulsions.
There is currently no vaccine, but the British health authorities want to be reassuring. There have been eight cases of Lassa fever imported into the UK since 1980. The last two cases occurred in 2009. None were transmitted to the UK, these are all imported cases each time . “The overall risk to the public is very low”, underline the British authorities, especially since the people who have been in contact with his three patients are under close surveillance to determine whether or not they could potentially be infected.