In the past 55 years, there have been eight travel-related cases of Lassa fever in the US

An eastern Iowa resident who was being treated at the University of Iowa has died from Lassa fever, a viral disease spread by rats found in West Africa, according to a Monday news release from Iowa Health and Human Services.

The death was announced Monday in a news release from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, which did not identify the person. According to HHS, the person — identified as middle-aged — had recently returned from a trip to West Africa, where doctors believe they contracted the virus.

Lassa fever can be fatal, but most infected people have mild or no symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can cause symptoms ranging from headache and low-grade fever to excessive bleeding, difficulty breathing and vomiting.

The virus is typically only spread when people come into contact with urine or feces from infected multimmamate rats, which is common in West Africa. It can also be spread through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, but is not spread through casual contact such as hugging, shaking hands or sitting next to someone, the release said.

Over the past 55 years, eight travel-related cases of Lassa fever have been reported in the U.S., the news release said.

“Out of an abundance of caution,” Iowa HHS is working with the University of Iowa Health Care, the CDC and local public health partners to identify and monitor anyone who may have come into contact with the deceased.

Testing to determine the person’s cause of death was conducted Monday at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to confirm the diagnosis, the release said.

“This is a difficult time for this person’s family and I would like to express our deepest condolences,” said Dr. Robert Kruse, medical director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. “I want to reassure Iowans that the risk of transmission in our state is incredibly low. We continue to investigate this situation and monitor and implement the necessary public health protocols.”

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