PO Box 360
Trenton, NJ 08625-0360

For Release:
05/25/2015

Mary E. O'Dowd, M.P.H.
Commissioner

For Further Information Contact:
Office of Communications
(609) 984-7160

Lassa Fever Reported in N.J. Traveler Returning from West Africa

Risk to public considered extremely Low

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed a diagnosis of Lassa fever in an Essex County man who recently returned from West Africa.

The patient, 55, was admitted to a hospital on May 21 with fever and sore throat and was placed in isolation. Blood samples submitted to CDC tested positive for Lassa fever today.  The patient’s condition continued to decline and he passed away this evening.

Lassa fever is a viral disease that is common in West Africa, but rarely seen in the United States. It is not spread through casual contact or through the air. According to the CDC, there has never been person to person transmission of Lassa fever documented in the U.S. In rare cases, it can be transmitted through direct contact with a sick person’s blood or bodily fluids, or through sexual contact.

Despite the unlikelihood of person to person transmission, the Department of Health is working with hospital officials to identify all close contacts including health care workers, family members and anyone who may have come in contact with the patient out of an abundance of caution. They will be monitored for symptoms.

There have been five other cases of Lassa fever in travelers returning to the U.S. since 1969, including in a New Jersey patient who died in 2004 and a Minnesota case last year. Although Lassa fever can produce hemorrhagic symptoms in infected persons, the disease is not related to Ebola, which is responsible for the current outbreak in West Africa. The patient tested negative for Ebola.

In West Africa, Lassa virus is carried by rodents and transmitted to humans through contact with urine or droppings of infected rodents. 100,000 to 300,000 cases of Lassa fever, and 5,000 deaths, occur in West Africa each year.

“Given what we know about how Lassa virus spreads to people, we think the risk to the public is extremely low,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Tina Tan.

For additional information about Lassa fever see the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/lassa/.

Last Reviewed: 5/25/2015