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Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Secondary transmission of Lassa fever (LF) occurs in the community and in health-care facilities, and is associated with high fatality in Nigeria. We investigated the role of oral ribavirin postexposure prophylaxis (orPEP) in preventing LF among the primary contacts of confirmed cases fr...

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Autores principales: Isa, Samson E., Okwute, Attah, Iraoyah, Kelly O., Nathan, Shehu Y., Simji, Gomerep S., Okolo, Mark O., Anejo-Okopi, Joseph, Spicola, Daria, Isa, Daisy E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4995818/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27630390
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0300-1652.188362
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author Isa, Samson E.
Okwute, Attah
Iraoyah, Kelly O.
Nathan, Shehu Y.
Simji, Gomerep S.
Okolo, Mark O.
Anejo-Okopi, Joseph
Spicola, Daria
Isa, Daisy E.
author_facet Isa, Samson E.
Okwute, Attah
Iraoyah, Kelly O.
Nathan, Shehu Y.
Simji, Gomerep S.
Okolo, Mark O.
Anejo-Okopi, Joseph
Spicola, Daria
Isa, Daisy E.
author_sort Isa, Samson E.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Secondary transmission of Lassa fever (LF) occurs in the community and in health-care facilities, and is associated with high fatality in Nigeria. We investigated the role of oral ribavirin postexposure prophylaxis (orPEP) in preventing LF among the primary contacts of confirmed cases from December 2015 to March 2016. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Epidemiological and clinical data of LF contacts were prospectively collected. However, information regarding ribavirin adverse effects (AEs) were collected retrospectively through a telephone interview. High-risk contacts were clinically monitored ΁ orPEP. RESULTS: Thirty-five (94.6%) out of the 37 individuals enrolled in the study were contacts of confirmed LF cases, and friends and family members (54%) constituted the largest group. However, only 29 (83%) individuals were classified as high-risk contacts. Twenty-one (60%) of contacts were prescribed ribavirin with 6 (28.6%) of them reporting AEs. Body weakness (33%) was the most frequent AE, but there was no incidence of treatment discontinuation due to AE. Furthermore, there were no reported cases of LF among all respondents (0%), whether they had orPEP or not. CONCLUSION: Secondary transmission of LF seems uncommon and the benefit of orPEP is uncertain. Although AEs of ribavirin may not be uncommon, they are rarely serious enough to cause treatment interruption. More emphasis should be on supporting persons looking after LF cases adopt measures that minimize the risks of exposure.
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spelling pubmed-49958182016-09-14 Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria Isa, Samson E. Okwute, Attah Iraoyah, Kelly O. Nathan, Shehu Y. Simji, Gomerep S. Okolo, Mark O. Anejo-Okopi, Joseph Spicola, Daria Isa, Daisy E. Niger Med J Original Article BACKGROUND: Secondary transmission of Lassa fever (LF) occurs in the community and in health-care facilities, and is associated with high fatality in Nigeria. We investigated the role of oral ribavirin postexposure prophylaxis (orPEP) in preventing LF among the primary contacts of confirmed cases from December 2015 to March 2016. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Epidemiological and clinical data of LF contacts were prospectively collected. However, information regarding ribavirin adverse effects (AEs) were collected retrospectively through a telephone interview. High-risk contacts were clinically monitored ΁ orPEP. RESULTS: Thirty-five (94.6%) out of the 37 individuals enrolled in the study were contacts of confirmed LF cases, and friends and family members (54%) constituted the largest group. However, only 29 (83%) individuals were classified as high-risk contacts. Twenty-one (60%) of contacts were prescribed ribavirin with 6 (28.6%) of them reporting AEs. Body weakness (33%) was the most frequent AE, but there was no incidence of treatment discontinuation due to AE. Furthermore, there were no reported cases of LF among all respondents (0%), whether they had orPEP or not. CONCLUSION: Secondary transmission of LF seems uncommon and the benefit of orPEP is uncertain. Although AEs of ribavirin may not be uncommon, they are rarely serious enough to cause treatment interruption. More emphasis should be on supporting persons looking after LF cases adopt measures that minimize the risks of exposure. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2016 /pmc/articles/PMC4995818/ /pubmed/27630390 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0300-1652.188362 Text en Copyright: © Nigerian Medical Journal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
spellingShingle Original Article
Isa, Samson E.
Okwute, Attah
Iraoyah, Kelly O.
Nathan, Shehu Y.
Simji, Gomerep S.
Okolo, Mark O.
Anejo-Okopi, Joseph
Spicola, Daria
Isa, Daisy E.
Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title_full Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title_fullStr Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title_short Postexposure prophylaxis for Lassa fever: Experience from a recent outbreak in Nigeria
title_sort postexposure prophylaxis for lassa fever: experience from a recent outbreak in nigeria
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4995818/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27630390
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0300-1652.188362
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