This is a very well-written recent article about a disease that surfaces in this part of the world at this time of year.
Because people with Lassa Fever who need to be hospitalized are often quite ill, they tend to be the more severe cases and have high viral loads that increase the risk of transmission to healthcare workers.
My friend Todd died of this illness and was the index case in this region two years ago. The date of his death (Feb 26) is actually the anniversary of the opening of the hospital that he was so instrumental in building.
Some of our teammates here have spent amazing amounts of time to get us prepared for this season. Any time a patient presents with a fever, we have to run through a checklist to profile their risk of having Lassa Fever and it adds another dimension to the stress and ethical complexity in caring for these patients. It is a gut check to consider our love for our patients and if that love is enough to conquer fear.
I remember thinking soon after Todd died that this horrible disease needs a protective vaccine against it. So, I am very excited to learn of the funds and collaboration being directed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, vaccine companies and others toward this goal! There are two sometimes competing thoughts in my mind about these sorts of healthcare disparities in the world. On the one hand - you “change the world by changing systems” and on the other you change it “one life at a time.”
