Okeke Christiana Chiamaka¹*, Tyem Nimnan Famak¹, Okeke Peace Nkiruka², Eshioramhe Michael Paul¹ and Olaniru Olumide¹

¹Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Nigeria
²Department of Microbiology, University of Jos, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Okeke Christiana Chiamaka, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Nigeria.

Received: May 30, 2022; Published: June 20, 2022

Abstract

Lassa fever over the years has been endemic in West Africa, having its origin in the Northern parts of Nigeria. The continual occurrence of the disease in Nigeria most especially, has become an issue of serious concern. Modern methods to contain and control the spread of this deadly disease would require coordinated efforts by health practitioners as well as members of the community. Being that the major route of transmission is zoonotic, the elimination of the disease vector has always been the best bet in controlling the disease transmission. Further spread of the disease, can also be prevented through the adoption of proper environmental hygiene, appropriate decontamination of exposed surfaces and disposal of contaminated biological samples and waste. As a viral haemorrhagic fever, lassa fever is not easily distinguishable from other hemorrhagic fevers as the condition presents with similar signs and symptoms. Also, the occurrence of Lassa viral lineages has also contributed to making the differential diagnosis of the condition quite difficult. Therefore, the adoption of more advanced laboratory methods of diagnosis would go a long way to ensure more targeted and specific viral protein isolation and identification. This would also enable prompt responses, treatment and management of all suspected Lassa fever cases.

Keywords: Lassa Fever; Viral; Hemorrhagic; Laboratory; Diagnosis; Nigeria

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Citation: Okeke Christiana Chiamaka., et al. “Laboratory Diagnosis of Lassa Fever: Journey so Far in Nigeria". Acta Scientific Clinical Case Reports 3.7 (2022): 49-57.

Copyright: © 2022 Okeke Christiana Chiamaka., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.