Lassa fever

American  

[lah-suh] / ˈlɑ sə /

noun

Pathology.

1. a highly contagious viral disease, largely confined to central West Africa, characterized by fever, difficulty in swallowing, and inflammation of the pharynx, often progressing to infect the lungs, heart, and kidneys, leading to death.

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Lassa fever British  

noun

1. a serious viral disease of Central West Africa, characterized by high fever and muscular pains

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Etymology

Origin of Lassa fever

First recorded in 1965–70; after Lassa, Nigeria, village where it was first identified

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Lassa fever

Lassa fever is rare in the UK, but there have been a small number of cases before - most recently in 2022.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2025

Not long after, he was sent to Sierra Leone to help investigate an outbreak of Lassa fever, a virulent hemorrhagic virus.

From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

Sixteen years after they first started thinking about the genetics of Lassa fever, Sabeti and Happi are excited about the study's findings, which could explain the biological differences between mild and severe illness.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2024

At the Galveston National Laboratory he has worked with guinea pigs infected with Ebola virus and macaques carrying Lassa fever.

From Science Magazine ● May 23, 2023

The future remains very uncertain for Lassa fever, caused by a virus derived probably from rodents.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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