Lassa fever epidemiology and demographics

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]

Synonyms and keywords: Lassa hemorrhagic fever; LHF

Epidemiology and Demographics

Prevalence

The dissemination of the infection can be assessed by prevalence of antibodies to the virus in populations of:

• Sierra Leone 8–52%
• Guinea 4–55%
• Nigeria approx. 21%

The number of Lassa virus infections per year in West Africa is estimated at 100,000 to 300,000. Unfortunately, such estimates are crude, because surveillance for cases of the disease is not uniformly performed. In some areas of Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is known that 10%-16% of people admitted to hospitals have Lassa fever, which indicates the serious impact of the disease on the population of this region.

Outbreak Distribution Map Lassa Fever CDC.png[1]