Scotland's First Minister Nicola Surgeon recently confirmed over one hundred cases of omicron's sub-variant BA.2 had been found in our country.
And now in addition to the new strain, which has been dubbed the 'stealth variant', there are confirmed cases of lassa fever in the UK.
The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that at least two people in England have come down with the virus and at present, one case involves an individual who has fully recovered.
The other patient is being treated by specialists at the Royal Free London Hospital whilst a potential third case is said to be under investigation.
So what is lassa fever, what are the symptoms and is it anything to worry about?
Here’s everything you need to know about lassa fever.
What is lassa fever and how do you become infected?
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic illness which is caused by the lassa virus - known to be endemic in parts of West Africa such as Benin, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, reports HullLive.
A person can become infected when they are exposed to household items or food which have become contaminated with the urine or faeces of infected rats.
Because of this, people can also pick up the virus if they're exposed to the bodily fluids of someone who is infected.
What are the symptoms of lassa fever?
The length of time between being infected and the first symptom appearing is different for everyone.
It can start suddenly or take a while to show however around 80% of people will be asymptomatic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that lassa fever's incubation period ranges between two to 21 days.
For those who do experience symptoms, they are said to start with:
- A high temperature
- Weakness
- Malaise - a feeling of discomfort and lack of well-being
In addition to starter symptoms, people may also experience:
- A headache
- A sore throat
- Muscle pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- A cough
In severe cases, there may symptoms such as:
- Facial swelling
- A build-up of lung cavity fluid
- Bleeding from the mouth, nose or vagina
In the later stages of the virus, shock, seizures, tremor, disorientation and coma may be experienced by the individual.
Some rare cases, deafness may occur in around one in every four patients who have recovered. Though their hearing will return to normal between one to three months afterwards.
If you think you have this whilst pregnant, emergency medical attention will be necessary as it could put the child and pregnant person at risk of dying.
Thankfully the WHO have said that most people will make a full recovery despite death occurring in around one per cent of patients.
It adds: "Because the symptoms of Lassa fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis is often difficult, especially early in the course of the disease."
How is lassa fever treated?
The WHO have said that "good community hygiene" is the only key prevention as there are no vaccines.
There are other ways to treat the virus, including from antiviral drugs, but these treatments are not back up by evidence.
Should you be concerned about lassa fever?
There have been 10 cases recorded in the UK since 1980 with the last outbreak occurring between two people back in 2009.
Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, has said that lassa fever is "rare in the UK" and thankfully cases do not spread easily meaning the "risk to the public is very low."
She added: "We are contacting the individuals who have had close contact with the cases prior to confirmation of their infection, to provide appropriate assessment, support and advice.”
"UKHSA and the NHS have well established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with cases of imported infectious disease and these will be reinforced."
