Lassa Fever Diagnosis

LASSA FEVER DIAGNOSIS
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Lassa fever is a viral infection caused by Lassa virus. It is a hemorrhagic disease transmitted by rats found mostly in the Central and Eastern Africa. The virus is found in the urine and faeces of the rodents and human beings get infected by getting into contact with the rats. Transmission also occurs from human to human even in health care settings. However, most infection is mild but some can be severe or moderate.
Patients with suspected Lassa fever should be isolated to control the infection. Some of the symptoms of Lassa are not specific, making clinical diagnosis difficult. Therefore, the diagnosis needs specialized laboratory tests to be conducted using the antibody enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or antigen detecting test. Other tests that can be conducted include the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction or virus isolation cell culture test.
Since the incubation period of the virus is between 6-21 days, laboratory test is the only way to detect the presence of the virus in the body using samples of body fluids like urine or faeces. The disease always starts gradually with mild fever and weakness of the body. After some days, other signs of headache and muscle pain among other symp...