Viral Haemorrhagic Fever
Viral haemorrhagic fevers are a group of illnesses that are caused by several distinct families of viruses: arenaviruses, filoviruses, bunyaviruses and flaviviruses. Some of these cause relatively mild illnesses, whilst others can cause severe, life-threatening disease.
Recent Updates
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February 2009: Imported case of Lassa fever in London, ex-Mali
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January 2009: Imported case of Lassa fever in London, ex-Nigeria
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December 2008: Ebola Reston in pigs in the Phillipines
Examples of viral haemorrhagic fevers include Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Marburg and Ebola. Because the viruses depend on their animal hosts for survival, they are usually restricted to the geographical area inhabited by those animals. The viruses are endemic in areas of Africa, South America and Asia. Humans are not the natural host for these viruses, which normally live in wild animals. Rodents such as the multi-mammate rat, cotton rat and house mouse are the main reservoirs.
Known VHF outbreaks in 2008/2009
- Ebola: Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, declared over Feb 2009
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Lassa: Nigeria, Jan/Feb 2009
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Marburg 2008: Cases imported from Uganda into the Netherlands and the USA
- CCHF: Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey
The HPA provides diagnostic facilities at two reference laboratories
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