Lassa fever suspected in death of Iowa resident who traveled to West Africa --The CDC is assisting Iowa health officials to identify people who had contact with the patient after symptoms began. | 28 Oct 2024 | Health officials are investigating the death Monday of an Iowa resident as a suspected case of Lassa fever, a frightening viral disease rarely seen in the U.S., health officials said. The patient returned to the U.S. from West Africa early this month. The person was not sick while traveling, so the risk to fellow airline passengers is "extremely low," officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The virus is not spread by casual contact and patients are not believed to be infectious before symptoms occur. The patient had been hospitalized in isolation at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center. Testing by the Nebraska Laboratory Response Network early Monday showed that the patient was presumptively positive for Lassa fever. [Do not comply.]