Lassa fever, also known as Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF), is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. Many of those infected by the virus do ...LassafeverFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopediaJumptonavigationJumptosearchViraldiseasespreadbyatypeofmouseLassafeverOthernamesLassahemorrhagicfeverCommunityeducationmaterialforLassafeverSpecialtyInfectiousdiseaseSymptomsFever,headaches,bleeding[1]ComplicationsPartialorcomplete,temporaryorpermanenthearingloss[1]Usualonset1–3weeksfollowingexposure[1]CausesLassavirus[1]RiskfactorsExposuretorodentsinWestAfrica[1]DiagnosticmethodLaboratorytesting[1]DifferentialdiagnosisEbola,malaria,typhoidfever[1]TreatmentSupportive[1]Prognosis~1%riskofdeathwithtreatment[1]Frequency400,000casesperyear[2]Deaths5,000deathsperyear[2]Lassafever,alsoknownasLassahemorrhagicfever(LHF),isatypeofviralhemorrhagicfevercausedbytheLassavirus.[1]Manyofthoseinfectedbythevirusdonotdevelopsymptoms.[1]Whensymptomsoccurtheytypicallyincludefever,weakness,headaches,vomiting,andmusclepains.[1]Lesscommonlytheremaybebleedingfromthemouthorgastrointestinaltract.[1]Theriskofdeathonceinfectedisaboutonepercentandfrequentlyoccurswithintwoweeksoftheonsetofsymptoms.[1]Ofthosewhosurvive,aboutaquarterhavehearingloss,whichimproveswithinthreemonthsinabouthalfofthesecases.[1]Thediseaseisusuallyinitiallyspreadtopeopleviacontactwiththeurineorfecesofaninfectedmultimammatemouse.[1]Spreadcanthenoccurviadirectcontactbetweenpeople.[1]Diagnosisbasedonsymptomsisdifficult.[1]Confirmationisbylaboratorytestingtodetectthevirus'sRNA,antibodiesforthevirus,orthevirusitselfincellculture.[1]OtherconditionsthatmaypresentsimilarlyincludeEbola,malaria,typhoidfever,andyellowfever.[1]TheLassavirusisamemberoftheArenaviridaefamilyofviruses.[1]Thereisnovaccine.[3]Preventionrequiresisolatingthosewhoareinfectedanddecreasingcontactwiththemice.[1]Othereffortstocontrolthespreadofdiseaseincludehavingacattohuntvermin,andstoringfoodinsealedcontainers.[1]Treatmentisdirectedataddressingdehydrationand