Lassa fever history and symptoms
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Diagnosis |
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [2]; Ammu Susheela, M.D. [3]
Synonyms and keywords: Lassa hemorrhagic fever; LHF
Overview
Lassa fever after an incubation period of six to twenty-one days, manifest as an acute illness with multiorgan involvement and patients present with gastrointestinal, neurological and pulmonary symptoms.
Diagnosis
The current case definition for suspecting Lassa fever is as follows:[1]
| Unexplained fever at least 38 °C or 100.4 °F for ≥ 1 week |
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| And 1 of the following: |
| ▸ No response to standard treatment with the choice of regimen for most likely cause of fever (malaria, typhoid fever) |
| ▸ Readmitted within 3 weeks of inpatient care for an illness with fever |
| And 1 of the following |
| ▸ Edema or bleeding |
| ▸ Sore throat and retrosternal pain/vomiting |
| ▸ Spontaneous abortion following fever |
| ▸ Hearing loss following fever |
Common Symptoms
Common symptoms of Lassa fever are often non-specific symptoms that resemble symptoms of other viral infections:
- Fever and chills (typically persistent, high-grade fever)
- Headache
- Malaise
- Myalgia
- Arthralgia
- Chest pain (typically retrosternal)
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Sore throat
- Back pain
- Cough
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea (may be bloody)
- Conjunctival injection and conjunctival hemorrhage
- Mucosal bleeding
- Hearing loss
The following graph demonstrates the common and rare symptoms associated with Lassa fever:
Less Common Symptoms
Less common symptoms of Lassa fever usually develop late and are often associated with a more severe course of disease.
Skin
- Jaundice