Lassa Fever

LASSA FEVER; AN OLD WORLD ARENAVIRUS ABSTRACT A brief summary of lassa fever, its history, pathology and effects on the indigenous populations. Also, lassa fever in the context of newly emerging diseases. LASSA FEVER         On January 12, 1969, a missionary nun, working in the small town of Lassa, Nigeria, began complaining of a backache. Thinking she had merely pulled a muscle, she ignored the pain and went on about her business. After a week, however, the nurse …

…area. The feeling is that it could be controlled by proper hygienic and educational measures, but the developed world chooses to leave the dying and forgotten continent, Africa, to suffer yet another vicious and deadly disease. LITERATURE CITED Garrett, Laurie, 1994, 'Into the Woods', The Coming Plague; Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance, 71 -99. Southern, Peter, 1996, 'Arenaviridae: The Viruses and Their Replication', Fields Virology, 1505 -1520. Sanford, Jay, 'Lassa Fever', The Merck Manual, 218 -219.