Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025370 (Poster 067) | Published: 01 Aug 2025
Cossi Angelo Attinsounon1,2,&, Julien Attinon1,2, Roukiath Babio2, Till Omansen3, Virgile Hounkpe2,4
1Faculty of Medicine, University of Parakou, R. Benin, 2Lassa fever care center of Parakou, R. Benin, 3Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany, 4Borgou Departmental Health Office, Parakou, R. Benin
&Corresponding author: Cossi Angelo Attinsounon, Head of Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Parakou, Regional and Teaching Hospital of Borgou, Parakou. Email: acosange@yahoo.fr
Received: 30 Apr 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 01 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, Family Cluster, Parakou
©Cossi Angelo Attinsounon et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Cossi Angelo Attinsounon et al., Lassa fever in Northern Benin: A family cluster of complicated disease highlighting the need for specialized care. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00211. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00211
Lassa fever is an endemic viral hemorrhagic fever prevalent in West Africa, including Benin. In northern Benin, efforts to strengthen epidemic preparedness have led to the expansion of diagnostic capacity and the commissioning of a new isolation ward. Managing severe cases, particularly in pregnant women, remains highly challenging and requires specialized care.
In March 2025, a 29-year-old woman in her first trimester of pregnancy presented to our facility after visiting three other health centers. She arrived in hypovolemic shock with massive hematemesis, severe anemia (hemoglobin 6.3 g/dL), marked thrombocytopenia (platelets 39 G/L), and leukopenia (3.6 G/L). RT PCR confirmed Lassa virus infection. She was admitted to isolation, but ribavirin treatment was delayed. On day 3 of admission, she expelled the fetus and died the following day due to retained placenta complicated by sepsis and probable disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Her 44-year-old mother also tested positive for Lassa fever and presented with fever and organ dysfunction, including elevated creatinine (30 mg/L), hepatic cytolysis (ALT 180 U/L, AST 838 U/L), and anemia. With daily monitoring and supportive care, she gradually recovered as her laboratory parameters normalized. She remained viremic for 27 days before testing negative and being discharged.
These cases underscore the complexity of Lassa fever in its management, particularly in pregnancy and severe illness. Further efforts in Northern Benin should include early diagnostics and community outreach to achieve timely diagnosis. Close clinical monitoring and interdisciplinary care in specialized facilities are essential for improving outcomes in such cases.
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