HOW LASSA FEVER IS
TRANSMITTED
Persons at greater risk are those living in
rural areas where mastomys are usually found especially in communities where
there is overcrowded living conditions, poor sanitation and poor reporting of
persons showing symptoms of this disease. Health workers are at risk if they
care for lassa fever patient in the absence of proper barrier nursing and
infection control practices.
Diagnosis
Lassa fever is difficult
to distinguish from other viral haemorrhagic fevers such as ebola virus and
many other diseases that cause fever including malaria, shigellois, typiod
fever and yellow fever. Definitive diagnosis requires testing that is available
only in specialized laboratories located at irua, edo state and rivers state in
the south south as well as other states in Nigeria.
PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Wash hands with soup and
water before and after eating
Wash fruit and all
vegetables before eating.
Keep waste bins with lids
away from houses.
Do not eat rats.
Do not food partially
eaten by rats.
If you notice that faeces
and urine of rats have contaminated your foods or household items discard the
food and wash those materials properly.
Own cats and place rat gum
and traps around your compound.
Heat left over foods
before eating.
Cover all left over foods.
Put foods in rodent proof
containers like pots, buckets and basins with good lids.
Dispose garbage in bags
into designated by government.
REMEMBER, treatment of lassa fever is available and free.