New Jersey on alert for Lassa fever

Returning from West Africa, a man in New Jersey died of Lassa fever this week, exposing a hole in New Jersey’s public health system meant to track potential Ebola cases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), the 55 year old resident who worked in the mining industry and traveled frequently to West Africa, was screened for Ebola when he landed and did not have any fever.

Following the standard procedures for passangers who come from Ebola-affected countries, the man was ordered to undergo a 21-day monitoring program by his local health department and notify the county’s authorities if he developed a fever.

When his temperature surged the day after his arrival, the man didn’t follow the plan. He went to Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston instead.

According to the hospital, the man didn’t declare that he just came from West Africa and there was no reason to believe that he had a viral hemorrhagic fever.

The Ebola monitoring system does not alert hospitals about someone under ebola watch.

Because of the lapse, more than 150 people suspected of having had contact with the man who died of Lassa fever are now being monitored.

CDCP spokesman Benjamin Haynes said in a statement Thursday that most of those being monitored were in no danger. Six are believed to have had a high risk of exposure to the fever, while 33 were low risk.

Lassa fever can be spread through the blood and vomit of an infected person or the urine or droppings of infected rodents. It is far less fatal than Ebola. Ma. Rhona Ysabel B. Daoang/trainee/CB