Lassa Fever

A person has died after three cases of Lassa fever were confirmed in the UK. The cases have been linked to travel to West African countries.

The Lassa fever-causing virus is found in West Africa and was first discovered in 1969 in Lassa, Nigeria.

The fever is spread by rats and is primarily found in countries in West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria where it is endemic.
Human beings can transmit the virus to each other through contact with infected bodily fluids.

Slight fever, fatigue, weakness and headache and more serious symptoms include bleeding, difficulty breathing, vomiting, facial swelling, pain in the chest, back, and abdomen and shock.

The best way to avoid getting infected is to avoid contact with rats.
Ribavirin, an antiviral drug, has been used to successfully treat Lassa fever in patients.

Facts for Prelims :

It is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma celebrated in the state of Telangana, India.
- The Jathara was designated as a State Festival in 1996, owing to the festival’s popularity and auspicious importance.
It commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law.
It is celebrated once in two years in the month of “Magha” (February) on the full moon day.
It is the second-largest fair of India, after the Kumbh Mela, celebrated by the second-largest Tribal Community of Telangana- the Koya tribe for four days.
It is a festival with no vedic or Brahmanic influence.
At present, the Jathara festival is biennially celebrated and organized by the Koyas in collaboration with the Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Telangana.