Iowa man dies from suspected West African virus that could cause permanent hearing loss

An Iowa man is believed to have died from Lassa fever, a virus rarely seen in the US that causes one in three cases of permanent hearing loss and 95% of infected pregnant women to miscarry.

The patient, who has not been publicly identified, had recently traveled to West Africa where the virus originated and can be found in the region’s rats, health officials said.

The infected individual – who returned to the US from West Africa earlier this month – had been hospitalized in isolation at the University of Iowa Healthcare Medical Center before their deaths.

On Monday, preliminary tests conducted by the Nebraska Laboratory Response Network revealed that the Iowa resident tested positive for Lassa fever — which would mark just the ninth known case of the viral illness in the U.S. since 1969, the year was first documented in Lassa. Nigeria.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping local health officials identify the patient’s close contacts after they started showing symptoms. The patient showed no symptoms during the trip, so fellow travelers are not being screened as their risk is “extremely low,” CDC officials said.

Anyone identified as being in close contact with the deceased patient will be monitored by health officials for 21 days.

Symptoms of Lassa fever can include fever, fatigue, and headache in mild cases, and bleeding, difficulty breathing, vomiting, facial swelling, shock, and chest, back, and abdominal pain in more severe cases, according to the CDC.

Lassa fever can cause permanent hearing loss and deafness in patients with mild and severe cases. About 1 in 3 experience some degree of hearing loss, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, pregnant women are at serious risk if infected with 95% losing the pregnancy and fetus.

Those infected with Lassa fever usually begin to experience symptoms within one to three weeks of contracting the viral illness.

The disease cannot be spread before the infected person is symptomatic or through casual contact such as hugging or shaking hands.

Although the virus is primarily spread by rodents — specifically West African rats, their feces and urine — it can be spread through contact with the body fluids of an infected individual, according to the CDC.

Investigators believe the patient from Iowa had been in contact with West African rats, according to preliminary information.

West Africa sees about 100,000 to 300,000 cases of Lassa fever each year with an average of 5,000 deaths.

By postal wire