Lassa fever outbreaks in Nigeria

摘要

First described from Nigeria in 1969 1, Lassa fever (LF) is not new here but continues to manifest in epidemic proportions and as endemic or sporadic outbreaks. Recent data show both the increasing occurrence of sporadic outbreaks and the continued spread across the country 2,3. Neither the morbidity nor mortality from LF in Nigeria is insignificant. About 6 of febrile adults 4 and 3.5 of acutely febrile ill children 5 in endemic areas have confirmed infections. Even with improved supportive care and treatment with ribavirin 6, case fatalities were still as high as 24-33 in tertiary hospital settings in recent times 7,8 while about 13.5 of survivors have sensorineural hearing loss 9. Besides these, LF accounts for about 22 of hospital maternal mortality in endemic areas 10.