Lassa fever kills 163 in Nigeria, can they enter RI?

Jakarta –

Nigeria is facing Lassa fever. Local health authorities recorded a total of 163 deaths as of Thursday (8/8/2024).

Lassa fever is a disease caused by the Lassa virus, a type of RNA virus that belongs to the Arenaviridae family. This disease can be transmitted by urine and feces of Mastomys natalensis mice.

Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said Lassa fever is an endemic disease in West African countries. Apart from Nigeria, Lassa fever is also found in countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

“Usually this virus stays close to where people live, meaning in rural areas. But even in urban areas, in Africa it can happen, with poor sanitation, poor hygiene,” he said detikcomFriday (9/8).

Most cases of Lassa fever also do not show any symptoms, or are asymptomatic.

“The majority or 80 percent do not show symptoms, and this is relatively dangerous because there is the possibility of being transmitted between people,” he said.

“If the disease has an asymptomatic or asymptomatic stage, the possibility of it becoming an outbreak is greater,” continued Dicky.

Does RI need to tighten the entrance?

Regarding the spread of the Lassa virus in Indonesia, Dicky said that the risk is still small. However, the risk is still there, especially if people travel to endemic areas in West Africa.

“If there is a person who traveled from an endemic area in West Africa and returned to Indonesia and was infected there,” he said.

In addition, the risk of spreading the Lassa virus also depends on the presence of its host animal, namely the mouse Mastomys natalensis.

“So far I have not received data on the prevalence of these rats in Indonesia,” he said.

To prevent the spread of Lassa fever in Indonesia, Dicky stressed the importance of strict surveillance at international and local entry points.

(re/naf)