Warning over new horror rat-fever that's killed 85 and infected thousands more

01 March 2024 , 09:38

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Health worker during an outbreak of Lassa Fever in the village of Serabu near Kenema, Sierra Leone (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)

Lassa Fever - dubbed rat fever - has infected thousands across the world and has already killed 85 this year, figures from the World Health Organisation show.

The deadly illness causes people to bleed from the eyes ears and mouth and is spread by infected rats. In 2022, three cases were reported in the UK after a family returned from West Africa to Bedfordshire, with a newborn baby dying from the virus. WHO statistics show that Lassa Fever is currently endemic in Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Guinea and Liberia.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said 477 cases have been confirmed, and it has already killed 85 people. Nigeria's minister of State for Environment Iziaq Salako said: “We are targeting a reduction of the outbreak so that it cannot escalate to any other state. We are embarking on de-ratisation and awareness creation at the community level as part of the preventive measures.

"So, basically we are putting measures in place to make sure that there is massive de-ratisation to reduce the population of the vectors that cause the disease. We will focus on communities and states that are prone to the disease annually.”

The WHO says around one per cent of people who are infected with Lassa Fever die, although once admitted to hospital the fatality rate rises sharply to 15 percent. They have also recorded death rates of 70 per cent of those infected in some areas. Last week three members of staff died at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna.

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