ABSTRACT
Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic fever belonging to the arenaviridae family that is well known to be endemic to West Africa. The clinical presentation of the disease ranges from asymptomatic to fulminant illness. Lymphadenopathy a clinical manifestation of inflammation, infection, or malignancy has not been widely reported in Lassa fever disease. We report two cases of Lassa fever disease presenting with lymphadenopathy.
Enlargement of lymph nodes, is a common symptom of many infections, however it is not commonly mentioned in patients with Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever that is endemic in West Africa. However, recent research suggests that lymphadenopathy may be underreported in Lassa fever patients. This new finding could have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, as well as for our understanding of how it spreads.
ABSTRACT
It is rare both to have the central nervous system (CNS) as the main focus in the acute phase of Lassa fever infection without associated bleeding, and to find Lassa virus (LAV) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) but not in the serum. We report the case of a 38-year-old Nigerian woman with mainly CNS manifestation of Lassa fever. She was admitted twice within 11 days because of persistent fever. A clinical diagnosis of acute LAV encephalitis was made because of a high index of suspicion and CNS involvement confirmed by positive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for LAV in the CSF, while her blood was repeatedly negative for LAV by RT-PCR test. She recovered fully following supportive care coupled with treatment with an 18-day course of ribavirin, and suffered no long-term neurological complication or relapse. Post-treatment CSF examination by RT-PCR did not detect LAV.
