Public health response to two imported, epidemiologically related cases of Lassa fever in the Netherlands (ex Sierra Leone), November 2019

Euro Surveill. 2020 Apr;25(15):2000265. doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.15.2000265.

Abstract

On 20 November 2019, Lassa fever was diagnosed in a physician repatriated from Sierra Leone to the Netherlands. A second physician with suspected Lassa fever, repatriated a few days later from the same healthcare facility, was confirmed infected with Lassa virus on 21 November. Comprehensive contact monitoring involving high- and low-risk contacts proved to be feasible and follow-up of the contacts did not reveal any case of secondary transmission in the Netherlands.

Keywords: Lassa fever; health care workers; public health measures; the Netherlands.

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Contact Tracing*
  • Cross Infection
  • Female
  • Health Personnel*
  • Humans
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional
  • Lassa Fever / diagnosis*
  • Lassa Fever / drug therapy
  • Lassa virus / genetics
  • Lassa virus / isolation & purification*
  • Male
  • Netherlands
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sierra Leone
  • Travel
  • Whole Genome Sequencing

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents