dslreports logo
Blog 'talkne' » Rare Illness Kills New Jersey Man

"We are comfortable that this case will remain an isolated case."

Dr. Nick Karabulut, Capital Health System Mercer Medical Center

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 3, 2004

Source CBS.com

(AP) A New Jersey man who recently returned from a trip to Liberia has died of an illness that had not been detected in the United States since 1989 but is common in West Africa, state health officials said Thursday.

The man died of Lassa fever, a virus spread through rat droppings or urine that can be passed to other people through bodily fluids but not through causal contact, officials said. The 38-year-old man from the Trenton area was not identified by authorities.

Story Continues
« back

comments?