Imported Lassa Fever | CDC EID

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 10–October 2010
Volume 16, Number 10–October 2010
Dispatch
Imported Lassa Fever, Pennsylvania, USA, 2010

Valerianna Amorosa Comments to Author, Adam MacNeil, Ryan McConnell, Ami Patel, Katherine E. Dillon, Keith Hamilton, Bobbie Rae Erickson, Shelley Campbell, Barbara Knust, Deborah Cannon, David Miller, Craig Manning, Pierre E. Rollin, and Stuart T. Nichol
Author affiliations: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (V. Amorosa, R. McConnell, K.E. Dillon, K. Hamilton); Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Philadelphia (V. Amorosa); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (A. MacNeil, A. Patel, B.R. Erickson, S. Campbell, B. Knust, D. Cannon, D. Miller, C. Manning, P.E. Rollin, S.T. Nichol); and Philadelphia Department of Health, Philadelphia (A. Patel)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
We report a case of Lassa fever in a US traveler who visited rural Liberia, became ill while in country, sought medical care upon return to the United States, and subsequently had his illness laboratory confirmed. The patient recovered with supportive therapy. No secondary cases occurred.

Lassa fever is a potentially severe viral infection caused by Lassa virus (family Arenaviridae, genus Arenavirus), with an overall case-fatality rate of 1%–2% and a case-fatality rate of 15%–20% for hospitalized patients (1,2). The virus is endemic to West Africa, with the reservoir host being Mastomys spp. rodents (3). Person-to-person transmission of Lassa virus can occur through direct exposure to infected blood or secretions, and instances of nosocomial transmission have been documented (4,5). Primary symptoms of Lassa fever are fever, headache, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, and myalgia; hemorrhagic signs or deafness may also occur during illness (1,6).

Because the incubation period ranges from a few days to >2 weeks (1,5) and many symptoms are nonspecific, the potential exists for human carriage of Lassa virus to areas outside those to which it is endemic, putting travel companions, close contacts, and healthcare providers at risk for secondary infection. Before 2010, five instances of imported Lassa virus were recorded in persons from West Africa to the United States. Although early instances involved sick persons who were airlifted to the United States for diagnosis and treatment (7–9), the 2 most recent occurrences (1989 and 2004) involved persons who were not identified as potentially infectious until healthcare was sought in the United States (10,11). Here we report a case in a person who became infected and sick during a trip to Liberia and sought care upon return to the United States.

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Imported Lassa Fever | CDC EID

Suggested Citation for this Article

Amorosa V, MacNeil A, McConnell R, Patel A, Dillon KE, Hamilton K, et al. Imported Lassa fever, Pennsylvania, USA, 2010. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Oct [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/10/1598.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1610.100774

Comments to the Authors

Please use the form below to submit correspondence to the authors or contact them at the following address:

Address for correspondence: Valerianna Amorosa, Philadelphia VAMC–Medicine, University and Woodlawn, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; email: valerianna.amorosa@uphs.upenn.edu