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Nigeria said Tuesday the state of epidemic after 16 people died from the Lbada virus since the beginning of January. Eight of the 37 states in Nigeria are already affected by this fever identified in 1969, which causes vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most severe cases, edema, haemorrhage and encephalitis. More than 60 cases have already been confirmed in the country.
Every year, in West Africa, between 10,000 and 20,000 people are infected with this virus. About 1,000 succumb to it. "This period of the year is often, if not systematically, very conducive to the emergence of Lbada epidemic, explains the researcher Sylvain Baize of the Institut Pasteur and the international center for infectious diseases research (Ciri). This season is in any case the most favorable to the transmission of Lbada to man. Last year, for example, a major outbreak also occurred in the same period. " In Nigeria alone, there were more than 171 deaths caused by the disease during the dry season between January and April.
According to the researcher, "Mortality is around 20 to 40%, so lower than Ebola. But it's still important for an infectious disease. ". The epidemic is transmitted by a rodent, the mastomys natalensis, a kind of mouse that contaminates humans by contact with excrement or urine. Lbada fever is widespread in rural areas of Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where rodents are highly prevalent.
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"In terms of dangerousness and clinical syndrome, it can be compared to Ebola, Marburg and Crimea-Congo fevers," the researcher believes. To counter this virus "The best solution would be vaccination," continues Sylvain Baize. With his teams, he is working on a vaccine that will soon be tested in humans. "There is not, for now, really effective treatment." Only ribavirin, a medicine used to fight hepatitis C, is effective in the first days after infection, when no symptoms are felt or visible.
Jules Vincent
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