A KwaZulu-Natal man has become the first South African person to have contracted the deadly disease, Lassa Fever and succumbed to the virus, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD).
The NICD said the deceased, was diagnosed with the deadly disease, as he had extensive travel history in Nigeria before he travelled back to the country.
“He fell ill after entering South Africa, and was hospitalized in Pietermaritzburg Hospital, where the diagnosis of Lassa fever was confirmed through laboratory testing,” NICD said in a statement.
However, the NICD said that, there are no secondary cases confirmed, “but we are still tracing and monitoring all possible contact,” NICD said.
A multistate outbreak of Lassa fever that has been linked to be spread by the common rats, surfaced from the West African countries, where it has killed over 110 people in Nigeria.
Several cases of the viral infection has been reported in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria.
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