[Comment] Lassa viral dynamics: implications for missed diagnosis
Summary
Lassa fever remains a significant public health problem in many west African countries. Attack rates, case positivity rates, and case fatality rates are often in the double digits in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.1–4 More than four in ten people infected die from the disease in Sierra Leone and Liberia.2 Designated a priority disease for epidemic preparedness by WHO,5 Lassa fever symptoms mimic those of malaria…
Lassa fever remains a significant public health problem in many west African countries. Attack rates, case positivity rates, and case fatality rates are often in the double digits in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.1–4 More than four in ten people infected die from the disease in Sierra Leone and Liberia.2 Designated a priority disease for epidemic preparedness by WHO,5 Lassa fever symptoms mimic those of malaria and other acute infectious diseases. Late presentation and low index of clinical suspicion delay clinical and laboratory diagnosis and worsen prognosis.