 |
Lassa
Fever NJ/NY TriState |
Dr
Patty Doyle |
| Hello Jeff - No don't worry about Lassa Fever in the
US, No, don't worry be happy that is what the CDC and the mainstream media
tells us. However, although they say Lassa Fever kills only about 1% that figure is in West Africa where Lassa Fever is common and where people have been exposed to it and many have antibodies and immunity to it. BUT? What about the US where most of the non traveling US Americans have NO immunity to this new foreign disease? Still think an outbreak will kill only 1%? Lassa Fever is a Zoonotic disease, i.e. it gets into rodent populations and people exposed to infected rodent droppings get the disease. So far there are 150 plus exposed to the man who died of Lassa Fever. He was taken to a hospital in NJ and lied about his travel to W Africa. When asked if he had been in W Africa lately, he said, "NO!" Meanwhile he was released. When he went to another hospital he finally told the truth. It does appear that some people just do not care about exposing others to these foreign diseases. Well, now we have another foreign disease brought to our shores by immigrants. What is the CDC doing about it? They are using their Ebola planes to bring patients to Minnesota. Oh, at taxpayer expense, I might add. Frequent flyers? Patty N.J. patient dies of Ebola-like Lassa fever after Liberia trip Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 1:57 p.m. EDT May 26, 2015 (USA Today)--A man has died in New Jersey of Lassa fever, a disease similar to Ebola, after traveling in Liberia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials say the risk to the public is "extremely low" because Lassa fever doesn't spread easily. The death rate for Lassa fever is 1%, compared to the 70% mortality rate seen in Ebola patients, the CDC said. Doctors diagnosed the patient, whose name was not released, on Monday. He had traveled from Liberia through Morocco, landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 17. He did not have a fever when he left Liberia and did not report symptoms of Lassa fever, which include diarrhea, vomiting or bleeding, during his flight, the CDC said. The man, whose temperature was taken when he arrived in the USA, also did not have a fever at the airport, the CDC said. Officials began screening passengers for Ebola-like symptoms at five U.S. airports last fall. The man went to a hospital in New Jersey on May 18 with symptoms of a sore throat, fever and tiredness. According to the hospital, he was asked about his travel history and he did not mention going to to West Africa. Hospital staff sent the man home the same day. The man returned to the hospital Thursday, May 21 when his symptoms got worse, the CDC said. Hospital staff transferred the man to a treatment center prepared to treat viral hemorrhagic fevers. The man tested positive for Lassa fever early Monday morning, but did not test positive for Ebola. The patient was in "appropriate isolation" at the hospital when he died Monday evening, the CDC said. Like Ebola, Lassa is a viral hemorrhagic fever -- meaning that it can cause hemorrhaging, said Robert Murphy, director of the Center for Global Health at Northwestern University in Chicago. Lassa fever is common in West Africa and can cause similar symptoms as Ebola. Only about 20% of people with Lassa fever develop symptoms. Pregnant women are particularly at risk from the virus, and their fetuses usually die, Murphy said. Travelers have been diagnosed with Lassa fever several times in recent years, and the disease has never spread beyond the initial patients, said Amesh Adalja, senior associate at the Center for Health Security at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The New Jersey case is the sixth known occurrence of Lassa fever in travelers returning to the United States since 1969. The last case was reported in Minnesota in 2014. In West Africa, Lassa virus is carried by rodents and spreads to people through contact with urine or animal droppings. In rare cases, it can be spread from person to person through direct contact with a sick person's blood or bodily fluids, or through sexual contact, according to the CDC. The virus doesn't spread through casual contact, and doctors don't think that patients are contagious before they develop symptoms. About 100,000 to 300,000 cases of Lassa fever, and 5,000 deaths related to Lassa fever, occur in West Africa each year, according to the CDC. An anti-viral drug called ribavirin can treat Lassa fever, if given in the first few days. Scientists also are developing a vaccine, Murphy said. During the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa, some of the patients suspected of Ebola actualy had Lassa fever or malaria, Murphy said. CDC staff are working with local health officials in New Jersey to create a list of people who had contact with the patient. Health officials will monitor for 21 days anyone who had close contact with the man. http://www.whas11.com/story/news/health/2015/05/26/ebola-man-dies-after-trip/27965927/ |
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