Medical worker with suspected Lassa Fever to arrive in Atlanta

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has learned Emory University Hospital will get an American medical worker with suspected Lassa fever from Africa this weekend.

Emory confirms the U.S. medical worker will be flown to Metro Atlanta and transported by ground ambulance to the hospital.

Emory University Hospital is home to the Serious Communicable Diseases Unit, a specialized unit designed to treat serious illnesses like Ebola and Lassa fever.

Emory University Hospital's Dr. Jay Varkey has a lot of experience dealing with serious infectious diseases.

Varkey points out that Lassa fever is a serious viral infection with symptoms similar to Ebola.

According the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control website, Lassa fever is an acute viral illness that occurs in west Africa. The illness was discovered in 1969 when two missionary nurses died in Nigeria.

The number of Lassa virus infections per year in west Africa is estimated at 100,000 to 300,000, with approximately 5,000 deaths.

Varkey says Lassa fever is usually transmitted through rats and person-to-person bodily fluid exchange.

Cox Media Group