Poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and lassa fever in refugee camps of Sierra Leone

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Bonner, Phillip Cullison, Schmidt, Wolf-Peter, Belmain, Steven R. ORCID: 0000-0002-5590-7545, Oshin, Babafemi, Baglole, Debbie and Borchert, Matthias (2007) Poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and lassa fever in refugee camps of Sierra Leone. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 77 (1). pp. 169-175. ISSN 0002-9637

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Official URL: http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/77/1/169

Abstract

Lassa fever, a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in parts of West Africa, is a severe febrile illness transmitted
to humans by the rodent Mastomys natalensis. To determine risk of Lassa fever in households in Sierra Leonean
refugee camps, we analyzed the spatial relationships between households with a Lassa case and focal locations of
potential rodent habitats. Quality and hygiene factors of households were assessed to determine possible risk factors for household rodent infestation and occurrence of Lassa fever. The odds to have a rat burrow were higher in case houses than in control houses (OR 24, 95% CI 6.0–93). Case houses scored significantly worse in the quality of housing and external hygiene. These findings suggest that risk of Lassa fever in refugee camps depends on individual housing quality and the hygiene of the immediate surrounding environment.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	mastomys-natalensis, eastern province, virus, epidemiology, Liberia
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department
Related URLs:	Publisher Organisation
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2011 12:06
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/2363

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Poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and lassa fever in refugee camps of Sierra Leone. (deposited 15 Apr 2010 10:57) [Currently Displayed]
- Poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and lassa fever in refugee camps of Sierra Leone. (deposited 26 Oct 2011 15:42)

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