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ETA: Was it Lassa fever or Ebola?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3096842/Man-diagnosed-Lassa-fever-dies-US-Liberia-trip.html
New York businessman who complained of 'sore throat, fever and fatigue' DIES of rare tropical virus he caught in Liberia
Unnamed man flew from Liberia to Morocco, then to JFK Airport on May 17
He had no symptoms on flight, but visited hospital following day with fever
Was admitted three days later after confessing he had been to West Africa
Officials are now trying to trace fellow plane passengers
By Chris Pleasance for MailOnline
Published: 21:54 EST, 25 May 2015 | Updated: 09:06 EST, 26 May 2015
A businessman from New Jersey has died in hospital after being diagnosed with Lassa fever - a disease from West Africa which is similar to Ebola.
The man, who has not been named, had traveled from Liberia to Morocco in recent weeks before getting on a flight to the U.S., landing at JFK Airport in New York on May 17.
Health officials are now trying to trace anyone who may have sat next to the man on his flight from Liberia, and two health workers who helped to treat him at New Jersey hospitals.
The patient, who has not been named, died on Monday from Lassa fever while in isolation in hospital. Medics are now trying to trace two people who treated him, and passengers on his flight from Morocco to JFK
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Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, said the man did not have any symptoms during his flights, or when he arrived in New York.
Dr Frieden added that the patient first went to hospital on May 18 complaining of fever and lethargy.
He was quizzed by doctors about his travel history,
but failed to mention that he had recently been to West Africa despite regularly going there as part of his job in the mining industry, medics said.
WHAT IS LASSA FEVER?
Lassa fever is a condition caused by the Lassa virus, an infection with similar symptoms to Ebola which is common in West Africa.
Carried by rats, it is usually passed on through contact with their urine or feces, but can also be passed on through contact with bodily fluids of infected people, though this is less common.
Symptoms include fever, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding from the eyes or gums.
The disease was first diagnosed in Benin, West Africa, in 1969 and is named after the village the patient came from.
The World Health Organisation says the disease is endemic there, and is also present in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria.
While its symptoms are similar to Ebola, only around 1 per cent of those who contract the virus die, compared with 80 per cent who contract Ebola.
As a result he was sent home, but returned three days later, on Thursday, after his symptoms had worsened and was admitted.
He was then transferred to a second hospital on Saturday where he was placed in isolation while doctors carried out blood tests to determine which illness he had contracted.
Medics were also trying to get hold of ribavirin, an antiviral medication given through IV drip, when the man passed away on Monday while still in isolation. Test results confirmed he had been suffering from Lassa fever.
Lassa fever, which is caused by the Lassa virus, is a relatively common disease in West Africa, with between 100,000 and 300,000 cases are diagnosed every year.
The infection is carried by rodents and passed on through contact with their feces and urine. Symptoms include vomiting, fever, diarrhea, and bleeding from the eyes and gums.
But while 80 per cent of Ebola cases are fatal, only around 1 per cent of Lassa cases end in death, and transmission between people is rare.
A case of person-to-person infection of the Lassa virus has never been recorded in the U.S., but officials say they want to track anyone who has been in contact with the recent patient as a matter of caution, and will place them under observation for 21 days.
The disease can spread via contact with the bodily fluids of the infected, but the risk is low, especially in U.S. hospitals with proper hygiene controls.
Health workers said the man flew from Liberia to Morocco, then on to JFK (pictured). He first went to hospital a day after landing, but was not admitted until three days later when his symptoms worsened
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Health workers said the man flew from Liberia to Morocco, then on to JFK (pictured). He first went to hospital a day after landing, but was not admitted until three days later when his symptoms worsened
This last confirmed case of Lassa fever seen in a traveler returning to the United States was in Minnesota last year. The one before that was in Pennsylvania in 2010.
CDC officials on Monday declined to name the New Jersey hospital where the man first went for care, or to a second New Jersey hospital where he was transferred.
The CDC plans to send a special response team including a Lassa fever expert and specialists in occupational safety and waste management to the second hospital Tuesday.
'We expect to see Lassa fever and other infections like this. Because of Ebola, we're now better prepared to deal with it,' Frieden said.
Lassa fever was named after a Nigerian town where Western-trained doctors first noted it in 1969.
Around 5,000 people die of the disease, and in some areas of Sierra Leone and Liberia, 10 to 15 percent of people admitted to hospitals every year have Lassa fever.
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