Lassa fever experts gather

World experts on Lassa fever began meeting in London on Monday to try to achieve an integrated approach to the diagnosis, treatment and control of the disease, a source at the Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin - an NGO) told IRIN. Their agenda included ways of developing a simple rapid test for Lassa fever, improving understanding of the disease, reducing its incidence and promoting health education. The aims of the meeting also included increasing partner collaboration in Sierra Leone where, since 1995, Merlin has supported West Africa’s only specialist Lassa fever isolation ward, located in the eastern town of Kenema. Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic condition endemic to West Africa. An estimated 100,000-300,000 people contract the virus every year, yet little accurate epidemiological information is known about the distribution, age and sex of those who never reach hospital, Merlin said. Many parts of the ‘Lassa belt’ - from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea across to Nigeria - are insecure conflict zones that restrict detailed assessments, the NGO added. The one-day conference was being attended by representatives of the World Health Organisation, Sierra Leone Ministry of Health, International Committee of the Red Cross and Lassa fever specialists from around the world.