Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025121 (Poster 065) | Published: 05 Aug 2025
Isaac Ihinmikaye1,&, Olufemi Oladele Ayodeji1, Ifedayo Olabisi Fasoranti2, Esther Jackson Fioboah1, Liasu Adeagbo Ahmed3, Adetumi Adetunji Subulade4
1Infection Control and Research Centre, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, 2Department of Paediatrics, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, 3Department Of Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, 4Department of Community Health, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.
&Corresponding author: Isaac Ihinmikaye, Infection Control and Research Centre, Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria Email: isaacihinmikaye@gmail.com
Received: 21 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 05 Aug 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, Pregnancy, Favourable, Maternal outcome, Fetal outcome
©Isaac Ihinmikaye 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: Isaac Ihinmikaye et al., Lassa fever in pregnancy with a favourable maternal and fetal outcome: A case report. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00209. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00209
The study design is a case report highlighting a 32 year old G2P1+0(1Alive), known asthmatic woman, who presented at 34 week + 3 days gestational age with a 5 day history of high grade fever, breast engorgement, and intermittent abdominal pain. She tested positive for Lassa by RT-PCR with CT values of 32.75 and 30.0 on the G and L genes. She had spontaneous vaginal delivery of a live female neonate at a gestational age of 35 weeks + 3 days. The neonate tested positive for Lassa fever (CT- 27.49, 34.12), and was co-managed with the paediatricians as Lassa fever in a preterm, low birth weight neonate with jaundice, sepsis and anaemia. Baby tested negative for Lassa virus and were both discharged and follow-up at the clinic.
This case depicts the successful management of a neonate with vertically acquired Lassa fever. The high viral load (CT value 27, 34) of the neonate was consistent with acute infection. Hyperbilirubinemia in this case was likely multifactorial driven by prematurity, neonatal sepsis, and possible hemolysis from viral infection.13,14 Phototherapy proved effective, avoiding exchange blood transfusion, this reflects the importance of individualized care based on evolving clinical parameters. This case adds to the limited but growing body of evidence that suggests timely diagnosis and aggressive antiviral and supportive therapy can significantly improve neonatal outcomes.
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