Lassa fever is a rare, rare viral infectious disease in Brazil, 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 FAMILY doctor to make the diagnosis and initiate appropriate treatment.
- Lassa fever is a serious infectious disease characterized by an increase in body temperature and various other symptoms such as:.
As the disease progresses, several types of complications can occur, such as encephalitis, hepatitis, meningitis, shock, bleeding and seizures, for example.
In some cases, diagnosis of Lassa fever can only be confirmed by looking at symptoms and evaluating a person’s travel history; However, because some symptoms may be fairly general, your doctor may also order blood tests to confirm the infection.
Transmission of Lassa fever is by contact, respiratory or digestive, with the faeces of contaminated animals, such as spiders or rats; However, this can also occur from skin sores or mucous membranes, such as eyes and mouth.
In humans, Lassa fever is transmitted through contact with blood, stool, urine or bodily fluids.
Lassa fever is treated in isolation to prevent transmission of the disease, so to contact the patient, family members and healthcare professionals must wear protective clothing with gloves, goggles, apron and mask.
During treatment, injections of antiviral drug, ribavirin, are performed into the vein to remove the virus from the disease, and the patient should be hospitalized until symptoms stop and excrete the virus.
Prevention of Lassa fever involves avoiding contact with contaminated substances and therefore people should:
This council should be applied mainly in regions with a higher incidence of the disease, such as Africa.