Lassa fever is one of the types of haemorrhagic
fevers that affects human beings and could lead to sudden death.
When caring for patients with Lassa fever, further transmission of the disease through person-to-person contact or nosocomial routes can be avoided by taking preventive precautions against contact with patient secretion (called VHF isolation precautions or barrier nursing methods).
Some of the symptoms of haemorrhagic fever are high fever, serious headache and bleeding from the pores of the body parts which are all characterised by high fatality.
1.
Medical presentation and symptoms
These include: High fever; serious headache; pains in the chest region; dry and sore throat; continuous stooling and vomiting; in severe situations, there is bleeding from the mouth, nose and vagina and then death results in later stages.
2.
Preventing the disease or transmission
(Mastomys) Rodents and rats are the main vector of the disease. Someone can also be infected from the fluid or blood of an infected person and by shaking hands with people who are seriously infected.
3.
Other preventive measures
People should ensure their food is properly covered, either cooked or uncooked. Liquid soap and antiseptics should be used to wash the hands. Also, other rules of regular hand-washing should be adhered to always. Rodenticides should be used to kill rats, while the bush around the home should be cleared regularly. The windows and doors of the house should be closed especially when it is night time.
4.
Any body who shows the given symptoms above should report to the hospital immediately in order to prevent people not infected from coming up with the disease.
5.
Medical personnel should wear protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; using infection control measures, such as complete equipment sterilization.
