On Wednesday, three persons — two doctors and a patient– reportedly died of Lassa fever at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, sending panic across various parts of the state and the country.
A total of 292 persons were also said to have been placed on watch list over the disease.
Here are few things you need to know about the deadly virus.
WHAT IS LASSA FEVER?
Lassa fever, also known as Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF), is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. Since the first case of the virus was recorded in the town of Lassa, Borno state, in 1969, it has become an endemic disease in the country and several West African countries including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The Lassa virus is predominantly found in a rodent known as “multimammate rat” which belongs to the genus Mastomys. The virus, a member of the virus family Arenaviridae, is a single stranded RNA virus and is zoonotic, or animal borne.…Keep reading the full & the viral video now.
