Patient dies in Cologne of tropical Lassa fever

Cologne University Hospital reports death by Lassa virus
In Cologne, a person died as a result of the so-called "Lassa fever". This reports the news agency "dpa", citing the spokesman for the university hospital. Lassa usually occurs in several countries in West Africa, occurred in Germany, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) since 1974, five imported cases. More detailed background information on the current case and the gender of the patient will be announced today in a press conference.
Patient brought directly from Africa in Cologne university clinic
A patient of the Cologne University Hospital has died from the tropical disease Lassafieber. According to the "dpa" reported, the person was referred to the diagnosis of malaria directly from Africa to Cologne, according to the clinic, but died a few hours later. As a result, the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine on Wednesday, the suspected diagnosis Lassa fever, said spokesman Timo Mügge. "As a result, we immediately informed the competent authorities with whom we are currently working in close coordination," said Mügge.

Lassa fever occurred in Germany. Picture: Jezper - fotolia

Whether the deceased is a woman or a man has not yet been announced by the university hospital. About this and other details on the case, the public of the "dpa" According to be informed in the course of the day by a press conference with the Cologne health authority.

Virus was first isolated in the late 1960s
Lassafieber belongs as e.g. Ebola and Dengue to the so-called "hemorrhagic fever diseases". It was named after a RKI information for a city in northeastern Nigeria, where it was first described in 1969 and the virus was subsequently isolated. The natural host of the pathogen is the rodent "Mastomys natalensis". Although it is distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, only in West Africa are the animals infected with the Lassa virus, according to the RKI.
Accordingly, there are two established areas in which the disease occurs: On the one hand Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia and on the other Nigeria. The rodent lives here in rural areas near human settlements, in some places carry between 50 and 100% of the animals in the pathogen. Transmission is via contact or smear infection (e.g., via contaminated food) first to humans and then often further from human to human, e.g. about blood, saliva, vomit or bleeding drops.

Sixth case in Germany
In contrast, the disease is very rare in this country when it is imported by travelers from Africa. According to the RKI, only five introduced diseases have been registered since 1974 before the current case. Thus, in 1974 and 1985, for example, German doctors working in Africa who were treated and recovered in Germany. In 2000, a 23-year-old student died in Würzburg as a result of an infection with the Lassa virus on her journey to Ghana and the Ivory Coast. In the same year, a Nigerian fell victim to the disease after being flown to Wiesbaden for diagnosis and treatment. In the fifth case, a patient had recovered from the disease in Frankfurt in 2006 after almost three months of hospitalization. The man had previously worked as a surgeon in his West African homeland of Sierra Leone.

In most cases, the virus disease causes little or only mild symptoms. The Lassa fever begins gradually, the symptoms at the beginning of a flu resemble. Typical is rising fever and fatigue, which can include muscle and limb pain, cough, headache, nausea and vomiting. In an emergency, however, the infection can lead to internal bleeding and be life-threatening. Accordingly, according to the RKI, the disease requires special treatment and strict isolation of the infected person. (No)