Rare Illness Kills New Jersey Man

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.

It is unlikely that other passengers on the man's flight back from Africa or those who treated him were exposed, according to Dr. Clifton Lacy, state health commissioner.

An anti-viral drug is effective in treating most cases of the disease, Lacy said.

"It's only the high-risk individuals, really, who have the chance of getting the illness," said Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, state chief epidemiologist.

High risk is considered coming into contact with blood, vomit or other bodily secretions from an infected person. It is believed no employees at the hospital had high-risk contact, but some are still being questioned, Bresnitz said.

The man was admitted to the hospital after arriving at the emergency room Aug. 24. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died of massive kidney and liver failure on Aug. 28, said Dr. Nick Karabulut of Capital Health System Mercer Medical Center, where the man was treated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta diagnosed the cause of death as Lassa fever Thursday afternoon.

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

Authorities said they were still trying to identify the flight the man was on, which landed in Newark, and that the CDC would attempt to contact those who were on the plane.

The man's family said he did not have symptoms of the disease, such as diarrhea, vomiting or coughing while on the flight, so there is little chance any other passengers were exposed, Bresnitz said.

Between 100,000 and 300,000 people get Lassa fever in West Africa each year, Lacy said. There are about 5,000 deaths a year, but most people get mild symptoms or none at all.

By Tom Bell