Tags: Disease.
Lassa fever or Lassa hemorrhagic fever (LHF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa in Borno State Nigeria. Lassa fever is a member of the arenaviridae virus family. Similar to Ebola clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade but had not been connected with a viral pathogen. The infection is endemic in West African countries and causes 300000–500000 cases annually with approximately 5000 deaths.
