"Lhasa" a new contagious and deadly epidemic... and Britain records the first death

Health officials in Britain announced yesterday, Friday, that a person from the city of Bedfordshire died of Lassa fever, marking the country's first death from this contagious and deadly disease.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the total number of confirmed cases of Lassa fever in the country has now reached 3.

All of the identified cases belong to the same family in eastern England, and have recently returned from West Africa, where the disease is endemic and continues to spread, according to the agency.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at UKHSA, said: “Cases of Lassa fever are rare in the UK and do not spread easily between people. injured, to provide appropriate assessment, support and advice.

She added: "UKHSA and NHS have well-established and robust infection control procedures in place to deal with imported infectious disease cases and will be strengthened."

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