Lassa Fever
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever first described in 1969 in the Nigerian town of Lassa in the Yedseram River valley. Clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade earlier but not connected with this viral pathogen.
The infection is endemic in West African countries, causing many deaths. Outbreaks of the disease have been observed in the following countries:
* Nigeria
* Liberia
* Sierra Leone
* Guinea
* Central African Republic
but it is believed that human infections also exist in:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Mali
* Senegal
It is also the most common hemorrhagic fever that is exported beyond its endemic area to countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, and Israel.