Why Lassa fever is contagious after treatment – Virologist
A professor of medical virology at the University of Lagos College of Medicine, Sunday Omilabu, said Lassa fever survivors can still transmit the virus to others through bodily fluids 12 months after their recovery.
Omilabu said the virus can hide in semen, breast milk, saliva and blood after treatment and recovery.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, the virologist said: "The virus is still hiding in the bodily fluids of people who have been exposed, treated and overcome for even more than 12 months and people around them can contract the virus through their bodily fluids.
"For example, a husband who has just recovered can easily transmit the virus in his semen to his wife during sexual intercourse. They can have the virus in their urine, so efforts must be made to follow those who recover and they must be educated.
"The virus can be found in breast milk even after a mother has been treated. For such individuals, breastfeeding should be discouraged and husbands should also be cautious. All bodily fluids carry the virus, even blood and saliva. It has been known to stay in body fluids for over six months."
A study published in the Pan Africa Medical Journal in 2020 also showed that detection of LASV in seminal fluid and breast milk of discharged cases after ribavirin treatment suggests its persistence in these body fluids. Nigerians recovering.
The study titled "Tracking Lassa Virus Infection in Suspected and Confirmed Cases in Ondo State, Nigeria" and led by medical/molecular virologist Dr. Olumuyiwa Salu, Center for Human and Zoonotic Virology, Central Research Laboratory, College of Medicine, UNILAG, noted that safe sex practices, including sexual abstinence and the use of male or female latex condoms as well as the Abstinence from breastfeeding by nursing mothers after discharge should be encouraged in survivors.
He added: "The implications of viral persistence in these immune sanctuaries are now recognized as potential sources of new epidemics through sexual transmission for a number of other emerging infectious viruses, including viruses Lassa, Ebola and Zika. ."
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A professor of medical virology at the University of Lagos College of Medicine, Sunday Omilabu, said Lassa fever survivors can still transmit the virus to others through bodily fluids 12 months after their recovery.
Omilabu said the virus can hide in semen, breast milk, saliva and blood after treatment and recovery.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent, the virologist said: "The virus is still hiding in the bodily fluids of people who have been exposed, treated and overcome for even more than 12 months and people around them can contract the virus through their bodily fluids.
"For example, a husband who has just recovered can easily transmit the virus in his semen to his wife during sexual intercourse. They can have the virus in their urine, so efforts must be made to follow those who recover and they must be educated.
"The virus can be found in breast milk even after a mother has been treated. For such individuals, breastfeeding should be discouraged and husbands should also be cautious. All bodily fluids carry the virus, even blood and saliva. It has been known to stay in body fluids for over six months."
A study published in the Pan Africa Medical Journal in 2020 also showed that detection of LASV in seminal fluid and breast milk of discharged cases after ribavirin treatment suggests its persistence in these body fluids. Nigerians recovering.
The study titled "Tracking Lassa Virus Infection in Suspected and Confirmed Cases in Ondo State, Nigeria" and led by medical/molecular virologist Dr. Olumuyiwa Salu, Center for Human and Zoonotic Virology, Central Research Laboratory, College of Medicine, UNILAG, noted that safe sex practices, including sexual abstinence and the use of male or female latex condoms as well as the Abstinence from breastfeeding by nursing mothers after discharge should be encouraged in survivors.
He added: "The implications of viral persistence in these immune sanctuaries are now recognized as potential sources of new epidemics through sexual transmission for a number of other emerging infectious viruses, including viruses Lassa, Ebola and Zika. ."
Please share this story:
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