Lassa Fever imported to the UK from Sierra Leone Ref. Virological tests have confirmed the diagnosis of Lassa fever in a British national who had been working in rural Sierra Leone, and was evacuated to the UK after becoming ill. Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever caused by an arenavirus. Rodents are the hosts. Infection occurs through contact with rodent secretions or patient secretions.
Typical symptoms are fever, headache, lethargy, muscular pains and rash.
Dengue in Indonesia and Paraguay Ref. ProMED, March 10 and 11, 2000. An outbreak of dengue fever has been reported in Jakarta, Indonesia. Media reports have said that dengue has affected 42,000 people in Paraguay in recent weeks. The outbreak has hit 14 out of 17 departments in the country and is especially serious in Ciudad del Este, on the border with Brazil and in the capital, Asuncion.