A KwaZulu-Natal man has died on 12 May, after he was diagnosed with Lassa fever.
The virus is found in certain rats and can be transmitted
to humans.
However, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases
(NICD) says person-to-person transmission is not common, and mostly associated
with the hospital-setting where healthcare workers have contact with the
infected blood and bodily fluids of a patient.
According to the NICD, the man had extensive travel history
in Nigeria before returning to South Africa. He fell ill after entering South
Africa and was hospitalized in a Pietermaritzburg hospital.
‘’The diagnosis of Lassa fever was confirmed through
laboratory testing conducted at the National Institute for Communicable
Diseases, a Division of the National Health Laboratory Service. Sadly, the man
succumbed to the infection. Currently efforts are underway to trace and monitor
all possible contacts. No secondary cases of Lassa fever have been confirmed at
the time of this report,’’ it said in a statement.
Cases of Lassa fever in travellers returning from endemic
countries are reported from time-to-time. In 2007 a case of Lassa fever was
diagnosed in South Africa. The case involved a Nigerian citizen with extensive
travel history in rural parts of Nigeria before falling ill and he received
medical treatment in South Africa. Recently, in February 2022, an imported case
of Lassa fever with secondary cases were identified in the United Kingdom.
PICTURE: NICDDone By: Mitchum George
No comments:
Post a Comment