Lassa fever in post-conflict sierra leone.

Background: Lassa fever (LF), an often-fatal hemorrhagic disease caused by Lassa virus (LASV), is a major public health threat in West Africa. When the violent civil conflict in Sierra Leone (1991 to 2002) ended, an international consortium assisted in restoration of the LF program at Kenema Government Hospital (KGH) in an area with the world's highest incidence of the disease.

Methodology/principal Findings: Clinical and laboratory records of patients presenting to the KGH Lassa Ward in the post-conflict period were organized electronically.

Aspirin insensitive thromboxane generation is associated with oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: Aspirin (ASA) irreversibly inhibits platelet cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) leading to decreased thromboxane-mediated platelet activation. The effect of ASA ingestion on platelet activation, thromboxane generation, oxidative stress and anti-oxidant biomarkers was studied in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

Material And Methods: Baseline and post-ASA samples (100/325 mg x 7 days) were obtained from 75 DM patients and 86 healthy controls for urinary 11-dehydro-thromboxane B2 (11 dhTxB2), 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α (8-isoPGF2α) and serum sP-Selectin, nitrite (NO(2)(-)), nitrate (NO(3)(-)) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity.

Lassa hemorrhagic fever in a late term pregnancy from northern Sierra Leone with a positive maternal outcome: case report.

Lassa fever (LF) is a devastating viral disease prevalent in West Africa. Efforts to take on this public health crisis have been hindered by lack of infrastructure and rapid field deployable diagnosis in areas where the disease is prevalent. Recent capacity building at the Kenema Government Hospital Lassa Fever Ward (KGH LFW) in Sierra Leone has lead to a major turning point in the diagnosis, treatment and study of LF.

Capacity building permitting comprehensive monitoring of a severe case of Lassa hemorrhagic fever in Sierra Leone with a positive outcome: case report.

Lassa fever is a neglected tropical disease with a significant impact on the health care system of endemic West African nations. To date, case reports of Lassa fever have focused on laboratory characterisation of serological, biochemical and molecular aspects of the disease imported by infected individuals from Western Africa to the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan and Israel. Our report presents the first comprehensive real time diagnosis and characterization of a severe, hemorrhagic Lassa fever case in a Sierra Leonean individual admitted to the Kenema Government Hospital Lassa Fever Ward.

Lassa virus-like particles displaying all major immunological determinants as a vaccine candidate for Lassa hemorrhagic fever.

Background: Lassa fever is a neglected tropical disease with significant impact on the health care system, society, and economy of Western and Central African nations where it is endemic. Treatment of acute Lassa fever infections has successfully utilized intravenous administration of ribavirin, a nucleotide analogue drug, but this is not an approved use; efficacy of oral administration has not been demonstrated. To date, several potential new vaccine platforms have been explored, but none have progressed toward clinical trials and commercialization.