A patient has died after a third case of Lassa fever was confirmed in the UK, health officials say.
The person died at Luton and Dunstable University Hospital in Bedfordshire, following the discovery of two other cases of the Ebola-like virus in the east of England which were announced by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Wednesday.
All three cases are members of the same family and are understood to be linked to recent travel to west Africa, where in some parts the animal-borne acute viral illness is endemic.
Lassa fever is usually caught from exposure to food or household items contaminated with the urine or faeces of infected rats.
It can also be transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids.
The UKHSA said that “The risk to the general public remains very low,” the agency said, adding there is no evidence of further cases.
There is a very low risk of transmission to the general population, the UKHSA went on.
Lassa fever is caused by Lassa virus. Prior to these latest cases, there have been eight imported to the UK since 1980.
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