Why Lassa fever is contagious after treatment – Virologist

A professor of medical virology at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Sunday Omilabu, has said survivors of Lassa fever can still transmit the virus to others through bodily fluids 12 months after recovery.

Omilabu said that after treatment and recovery, the virus can lurk in semen, breast milk, saliva and blood.

In an interview with our correspondent, the virologist said: “The virus is still lurking in the bodily fluids of people who have been exposed, treated and overcome for more than 12 months, and people around them can contract the virus in their bodily fluids. .

“For example, a man who has just recovered can easily pass the virus in his semen to his wife when they have sexual intercourse. They may have the virus in their urine, so efforts should be made to monitor those who are just recovering and they should be trained.

“The virus can be in breast milk even after a mother has been treated. For such people, breastfeeding should be discouraged, and husbands should also be careful. All bodily fluids carry the virus, even blood and saliva. It has been known to remain in the bodily fluids for more than six months.”

A study published in the Pan Africa Medical Journal in 2020 also found that the detection of LASV in seminal fluid and breast milk of discharged post-ribavirin treated cases suggests that it persists in these fluids of recovering Nigerians.

The study titled “Monitoring Lassa Virus Infection in Suspected and Confirmed Cases in Ondo State, Nigeria” and led by a medical/molecular virologist, Dr. Olumuyiwa Salu, from the Center for Human and Zoonotic Virology, Central Research Laboratory, College of Medicine, UNILAG noted that safe sex practices, including sexual abstinence and the use of male or female latex condoms, as well as abstinence from breastfeeding by nursing mothers after discharge, should be encouraged among survivors.

It added: “The implications of viral persistence in such immune reserves are now recognized as potential sources of new outbreaks through sexual transmission for a number of other emerging infectious viruses, including Lassa, Ebola and Zika viruses.”