WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The health officials of Iowa have confirmed that a resident who recently traveled to West Africa has died due to lassa fever.
'I want to assure Iowans that the risk of transmission is incredibly low in our state,' Dr. Robert Kruse, state medical director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, said.
'We continue to investigate and monitor this situation and are implementing the necessary public health protocols.'
The preliminary tests were conducted by the Nebraska Laboratory Response Network, which revealed that the resident was positive for Lassa fever.
The officials will be monitoring people who were in close contacts with the deceased person for 21 days.
Lassa fever is spread by the 'multimammate rat', which is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is found in parts of West Africa, including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria, as per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease causes symptoms like slight fever, tiredness, headache, difficulty in breathing, bleeding, vomiting, chest pain, facial swelling, and difficulty in breathing.
The virus is spread through the urine and droppings of the rodents. It can also be transmitted to a healthy person through an infected person's fluids.
The officials have advised individuals to trap rats from nearby surroundings, and put away food in containers.
To treat the disease, the CDC said that antiviral drug Ribavirin has been used by infected people.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
