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Rodent-borne disease in bourn of Europe |
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July 27, 2000
GENEVA (AP) - A surgeon who was working in Sierra Leone has been hospitalized in the Netherlands with Lassa fever, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The man, whose name and nationality were not given, became ill July 11, the day before he returned to the Netherlands. He was admitted to hospital on July 22, and the diagnosis was confirmed by laboratory tests. Lassa fever is fatal in 25 percent of cases, and survivors can suffer permanent deafness. There is no vaccine for the disease. It is spread by infected rats, but infected humans also can pass it on, usually through bodily fluids. "The Dutch health authorities have taken the appropriate measures to prevent transmission of the virus from the infected patient," WHO said in a statement. This is the fourth case of Lassa fever reported in Europe this year. A Nigerian man and a German student died from the disease, while a British national working on peacekeeping duties in Sierra Leone also contracted the disease.
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