UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA), a public The health body, said the close contacts of the patients are being traced with a view to “proper assessment, support and advice”.
“The risk to the general public is very low,” it added.
The UKHSA confirmed on Wednesday that two other people had been diagnosed with the disease.
Read below to know more about this deadly virus
Lassa fever
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses. They say World Health Organization (WHO).
The virus takes its name from the city of Lassa in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969.
The WHO has also confirmed that Lassa fever is considered endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo and Nigeria, but is probably present in other West African countries as well.
The WHO says the disease is endemic in rodent populations in parts of West Africa.
Cause
Matomys mice have the ability to spread the deadly Lassa virus.
The study showed that when the mastomis rat infected As with the virus, it can possibly excrete the virus in its feces and urine for the rest of its life.
As a result, the virus can spread easily, especially since rats reproduce rapidly and can take up residence in human homes.
The most common mode of transmission is consumption or inhalation of rat urine or feces. It can also spread through cuts and open wounds.
Having rats for food can also be a possible reason for getting infected with the virus.
Person-to-person contact is possible through blood, tissue, secretions or excretion, but not through touch. Sharing needles can spread the virus, and there are some reports of sexual transmission.
Lassa fever can also spread among patients and staff in poorly equipped hospitals where sterilization and protective clothing are not standard.
Ability
The data confirm that humans commonly become infected with Lassa virus by coming into contact with food or household items contaminated with the urine or feces of infected Mastomys rats.
Person-to-person infection and laboratory transmission may also occur, particularly in the absence of adequate infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings.
Lassa infection numbers increase Start In a phenomenon associated with the dry season of the year.
Symptom
It has been observed that about 80% of the people who get infected with Lassa virus do not have any symptoms.
The remaining 20% symptoms may include – bleeding gums, nose, eyes or elsewhere, difficulty breathing, cough, swelling of the airways, vomiting and diarrhea, both with blood, difficulty swallowing, hepatitis, facial Swelling in the chest, back, and abdomen, hearing loss (which may be permanent), abnormal heart rhythm, high or low blood pressure, pericarditis (inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart), tremors, encephalitis, meningitis, and seizures .
1 in 5 infections result in severe disease, where the virus affects multiple organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys. Death can occur within 2 weeks of the onset of symptoms due to multiple organ failure.
Treatment
There is currently no licensed vaccine for Lassa fever, but several potential vaccines are in development, the WHO says.
-People are advised to promote good “community hygiene” to discourage rodents from entering homes
-Effective measures include storing food items in rodent-proof containers, disposing of waste away from home, maintaining clean homes, and keeping cats away.
Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival.
death rate
WHO says scientific data has confirmed the overall case-mortality rate is 1%.
In hospitalized patients with a severe clinical presentation of Lassa fever, the case-death is estimated at approximately 15%.
Lassa fever in Britain
According to the latest UKHSA statement, one person has died of Lassa fever in Britain.
The patient died at a hospital in Bedfordshire, north of London.
The three people, who are reported to have been infected with the deadly virus, were from the same family in eastern England and had recently traveled to West Africa.
UKHSA confirmed that two others have been diagnosed with the disease.
One of the confirmed cases recovered, while the other was receiving specialist treatment at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, north of the British capital.
The UKHSA said most people with Lassa fever make a full recovery, although some of those infected develop severe illness.
There have been eight cases of imported Lassa fever in the UK since 1980. The last two cases were in 2009.
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