lassa fever cure/ prevention

What is Lassa fever?

According to my own understanding Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 1 to 3 weeks duration that usually occurs in Africa country especially western sides.
Lassa fever is contagious because its a virus been transmitted to humans via contact with damage foods or household items contaminated with african black rat, urine or faeces.
Also Person to person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures.
Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Nigeria early November 2014. There is however no epidemiological evidence supporting airborne spread between humans.

What is the Lassa fever symptoms?
About 20% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms. The infection gradual starting with fever, weakness, all the human body will be feeling unwell, or tired. Or few days after headache, muscle pain, chest pain, diarrhoea, cough, and pain.

What is the treatment for Lassa fever? Antiviral drug ribavirin seems to be an effective treatment for Lassa fever if it been given early on in the course of clinical illness. So Family members should always be careful to avoid contact with blood and body fluids while caring for sick persons. In health-care settings, staff should always apply standard infection prevention and control precautions when caring for patients, regardless of their presumed diagnosis.

Health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Lassa fever should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the patient’s blood and body fluids and contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothing and bedding.

Laboratory workers are also at risk. Samples taken from humans and animals for investigation of Lassa virus infection should be handled by trained staff and processed in suitably equipped laboratories. On some occasions, travellers from areas where Lassa fever is endemic export the disease to other countries. Although malaria, typhoid fever, and many other tropical infections are much more common, the diagnosis of Lassa fever should be considered in febrile patients returning from West Africa, especially if they have had exposures in rural areas or hospitals in countries where Lassa fever is known to be endemic. Health-care workers seeing a patient suspected to have Lassa fever should immediately contact local and national experts for advice and to arrange for laboratory testing.