Lassa fever in the UK

In the United Kingdom (UK), where the Omicron wave has receded, another virus in the form of "Lassa" is spreading. It seems that the UK turns to be home to new variants. So far three cases have been registered and one person from Bedfordshire has died. It is noteworthy that all of them have a travel history of western Africa. Lassa is a deadly infectious disease, the UK health ministry said in a statement on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring the situation in Britain. Lassa fever is a severe viral infection. It is transmitted by the "rat", a species of rodent. Ten years later in Britain, it came to light once again.

Infected mice are more likely to release the virus through their urine for life. Humans are at risk of contracting the virus by touching these excreted objects. It spreads from one person to another. It is a single-stranded RNA virus. Lassa cases have been reported in the past in West African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria. However, the situation in those countries has now reached the endemic stage. However, a patient exposed to the Lassa virus may develop symptoms within a week to three weeks. 80% of people have mild symptoms. The remaining 20% ​​have severe symptoms of bleeding gums, eyes, and nose.

Symptoms include shortness of breath, frequent vomiting, swelling of the face, chest, back, abdominal pain, and hallucinations. The CDC says it can lead to neurological problems, including hearing loss, chills, and meningitis. The WHO estimates that people with Lassa fever have a 1 percent chance of death. The same symptoms were severe and accounted for 15 deaths in hospitalized cases. It is very unfortunate that variants wherever they erupted, the UK become the fastest spreading variants to the world.