UK records Lassa fever death

Post created on 9:39 am

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced, yesterday, that a patient in Bedfordshire died of Lassa fever and Nigeria has been fingered.

The unidentified individual was the third member of a family that recently returned from West Africa.

According to a report published yesterday by Daily Mail UK Online, only 11 cases of the rodent-borne disease have ever been detected in the UK. The three infections identified in the East of England in the last three days are the first spotted since 2009.

A spokesperson for Bedfordshire Hospitals British National Service (NHS) Foundation Trust said “We will continue to support the patient’s family and our staff and are working closely with colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency to undertake a robust contact tracing exercise.”

The UKHSA said there was no evidence of any onward transmission among any of the cases.