Rats!

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The Common African Rat transmits the Lassa Fever virus. The virus is present in the urine and feces of the rodent. Eighty percent of infected people develop a mild flu-like illness. Twenty percent develop severe illness and of those about 20% die. Ouch! Lassa is a serious problem. 

 Lassa Virus is endemic in Sierra Leone. There are special isolation beds at the MSF Maternal and Child Hospital in Kenema. Modern infection control precautions are necessary to prevent secondary human-to-human spread of the virus. There is no vaccine. Treatment with Ribavarin can help. 

 I have personal experience with these rats. About thirty years ago I hiked up Mount Kenya. About a day from the summit I slept in a  wooden hut built by the Austrian Alpine Association. We spread our sleeping bags on the floor. The rats woke me up. They scurried around, literally ran back and forth over my sleeping bag, and nosed around my pack. The rats were unnerving at first, but there was no avoiding them and I was tired after a long day hiking. I reasoned that if I didn't bother them, they wouldn't bother me, and I slept well thereafter. I'm sure the hut was filled with rat poop and pee. It's possible I was exposed to the Lassa Fever virus that night. 

 At the time I didn't know about Lassa Fever. Had I understood the basics of this nasty viral hemorrhagic disease syndrome, I would not have slept in the hut. 

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