A patient in the UK who has died from Lassa fever, an acute viral infection endemic in parts of Africa, was a newborn baby, according to reports.
The Guardian reported last week that a patient had died in Bedfordshire after being found to have Lassa fever. The confirmed case brought the total number of people diagnosed with the disease in England to three.
It has now emerged that the patient who died at the Luton and Dunstable hospital was a child, the BBC has reported. All three confirmed cases come from within the same family, the UK Health and Security Agency has said.
But where did the virus originate from, what are the symptoms and how transmissible is it?
What is Lassa fever?
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness, belonging to the virus family Arenaviridae, that lasts between two and 21 days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The virus, for which there is no approved vaccine, is known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. But it also probably exists in other West African countries as well.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms are usually gradual, starting with fever, general weakness and malaise.
After a few days there may be headaches, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, a cough and abdominal pain, according to the WHO. In severe cases there may be facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract and low blood pressure.
Deafness occurs in 25% of recovered patients. In half of these cases, hearing returns partially after one to three months.
How is it transmitted and is it easy to catch?
Humans can contract Lassa fever from eating food that has been tainted by the urine or faeces of rodents. The virus can also be spread through contact with the body fluids of a sick person, but it does not spread easily between humans.
According to the WHO, there is no epidemiological evidence supporting airborne spread from person to person. Imported cases rarely occur elsewhere in the world. Such cases are almost exclusively in people who work in endemic areas in high-risk occupations such as medicine.
How deadly is Lassa fever?
Most people with Lassa fever will make a full recovery although severe illness can occur. The overall case-fatality rate is 1%, according to the WHO.
But the observed case-fatality rate among patients who are admitted to hospital with severe cases of Lassa fever is 15%. Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival chances.
How many cases have there been in the UK?
The virus was first formally identified in Nigeria in 1969 and no cases were reported in the UK until the 1980s.
Since then, there have been 11 confirmed cases in total, including the three cases identified in the last few days. These cases are the first to have been confirmed in the UK since 2009.
How many deaths have there been in the UK?
Four people have now died from the virus in the UK since 2000, the UK Health Security Agency said. One died in 2000, two died in 2009 and the fourth death was confirmed on Friday.
Where are the current cases in the UK?
Two cases of the virus were discovered in the east of England on Wednesday. A third was confirmed on Friday in a Bedfordshire hospital but the patient, reported to be a newborn baby, died.
What is the risk to the public?
The UKHSA said the risk to the public “remains very low”.
