Lassa fever: The Rat’s role and preventive measures against them

The word ‘Lassa’ is a name of a town in Borno State, Nigeria. The word was used because the virus was first described in the town in 1969. Lassa fever is a member of arenaviridae virus family. The virus is endemic in West African countries. It has been described has an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus. Lassa virus is primarily hosted by Natal Multi-mammate rats (Mastomys natalensis) an animal indigenous to most of Sub-Sahara Africa. The virus is probably transmitted by contact with feces or urine of animals. With this description, the virus is termed zoonotic (transmitted from animals). As deadly as the virus is, inhalation of any tiny particle of infected material (aerosol) is significant for exposure. It is easily transmitted from human to another human through blood, urine, semen, airborne route and breast milk. Symptoms of the disease include fever, facial swelling, and muscle fatigue, as well as conjunctivitis and mucosal bleeding. The other symptoms arising from the affected organs are: Gastrointestinal tract Nausea Vomiting (bloody), Diarrhea (bloody), Stomach ache, difficulty swallowing, abnormally high heart rate, Cough Chest pain and Unilateral or bilateral hearing deficit Seizures. A keen interest is shown in rats as they are the vectors, so preventive measures against them will drastically reduce the rate at which the virus is being transferred.

It is known that rats are ubiquitous in this part of the country; even the urban cities have them in their closet. Rats being rodent, feast on anything that comes their way (they feed on grains, tubers, clothes, papers etc.) and this have actually made the transfer of the virus very easy, as this brings us closer to them. At this point, the Rat is termed the sole distributor of the virus, to back it up, research also show that the rat body is the natural reservoir of the Lassa fever virus, so I would say they are Lassa fever rats.

The measures to be put in place include;

Proper storage of grains and all other food items

All food items must be kept in a sealed and well ventilated environment. And the store where these foods are kept must be neat and tidy always, as rats find it very difficult to stay in a stuffed-free environment.

Personal hygiene

Sanitation must be carried out frequently, to avert rats at all cost. We must also make sure all cooking utensils and other household materials are always washed before being used, as the urine and feces from the rat is enough for exposure to the virus. We must also dispose all materials, especially food items we suspect to have been in contact with the rats. Unfinished foods must be kept in a save place not to allow rats get in contact with them. As the popular saying cleanliness also drives the doctor away.

Rat traps and rodents control chemicals can also be put in place to capture them, but in using chemicals to control rat, make sure adequate, measures are followed to avert accidents (read instructions carefully). Don’t forget to keep these chemicals out of reach of children.

Reference:

Wikipedia.