Death from Ebola-like virus reported in Iowa after travel to West Africa

A person from Iowa who recently returned to the United States from West Africa died Monday from a rare viral hemorrhagic fever that can be transmitted among humans through infected body fluids, state health authorities said.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a “middle-aged eastern Iowa resident” died of Lassa fever. The individual had traveled to West Africa, where they likely contracted the virus after possibly coming into contact with rodents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The person was not sick while traveling so the risk to fellow airline passengers is “extremely low,” the CDC said. Patients are not believed to be infectious before symptoms begin, the agency said.

The CDC said it is working with state public health officials to identify people who had contact with the person after their symptoms began; close contacts will be monitored for 21 days.

Lassa fever is not spread through casual human contact like hugging, shaking hands or sitting near someone or through the air, health officials said. Though very rare, the virus can be transmitted through blood or other body fluids.

Rodents in West Africa carry the virus and can transmit it to humans who come in contact with rodents’ urine or feces. Lassa fever is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria. People in neighboring countries are also at risk because the rat that spreads Lassa fever lives throughout the region, according to the CDC.

The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory first tested the Iowa individual Monday. The CDC is working to confirm the diagnosis.

Lassa fever is much less likely to be fatal than other viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola or Marburg virus.