Situation at a glance

On 22 April 2022, the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene of Guinea declared a Lassa fever outbreak following the laboratory confirmation of two cases from the Guéckédou prefecture in the southeast of Guinea. Lassa fever is endemic in several countries in West Africa and Guinea has previously reported outbreaks as well as sporadic cases. Given that the Guinean health system has been overwhelmed due to several concurrent emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks since last year, this current outbreak may have a serious public health impact. To date, no deaths have been reported.

Description of the case

On 20 April 2022, local health authorities were notified of a suspected case of hemorrhagic fever in Guéckédou prefecture, southeast Guinea (Figure 1). The case was a 17-year-old female who experienced fever and loss of appetite on 12 April. From 16 to 17 April, the case additionally reported chest pain and physical weakness. On 18 April, the case sought medical care, and was admitted to a hospital on 19 April. The case received home care for five days since symptom onset and consulted two health facilities, which resulted in 141 reported contacts.