Lujo haemorrhagic fever: information sheet for category 2 contacts
Advice for people who have been in possible contact with Lujo virus.
Get this information as a PDF
You have been given this information sheet because you have had contact with someone infected with Lujo virus, or materials contaminated with Lujo virus. Lujo virus causes a disease called Lujo haemorrhagic fever. You should follow the advice in this information sheet and check yourself for symptoms for 21 days after you had possible contact with Lujo virus. If you develop symptoms of Lujo haemorrhagic fever within 21 days of your last exposure to Lujo virus, you should stay at home and call your designated contact immediately.
About Lujo haemorrhagic fever
Lujo haemorrhagic fever is a very rare but serious disease caused by Lujo virus. Most information about Lujo haemorrhagic fever comes from the only outbreak which occurred in 2008. This outbreak was linked to a person from Zambia who sought healthcare in South Africa, leading to further cases in South Africa.
How Lujo virus spreads
Lujo virus can spread by:
- direct contact with the organs, blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids of an infected person for example their vomit, faeces, urine, saliva, or semen (including through sexual transmission)
- contact with objects, such as needles or soiled clothing, that have been contaminated with infected bodily fluids
- contact with infected rodents
Lujo virus is not spread through routine, social contact (such as shaking hands or sitting next to someone) with people who do not have symptoms. There is no evidence that Lujo virus can spread through the air.
It can take up to 21 days from when someone is exposed to the virus for symptoms to appear.
Symptoms of Lujo haemorrhagic fever
When symptoms occur, they range from mild fever with sore throat, to chest pain and later bleeding.
The illness begins with:
- fever (temperature above 37.5°C)
- headache
- sore throat
- generalised aches and feeling unwell
The disease increases in severity with:
- a rash
- facial and neck swelling
- diarrhoea
Preventing and treating Lujo haemorrhagic fever
There is currently no licensed vaccine for Lujo virus. To avoid Lujo virus spreading between people, those caring for individuals with possible or suspected Lujo haemorrhagic fever should avoid contact with the patient’s bodily fluids and should wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
Treatment for Lujo haemorrhagic fever is with supportive care, including balancing fluids and electrolytes, maintaining the patient’s oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating any other infections they may have at the same time.
Your risk of developing Lujo haemorrhagic fever
You reported one of the following, that:
- you had direct or close contact with someone with Lujo haemorrhagic fever, or their body fluids, outside of a designated high level isolation unit, but you were wearing appropriate PPE
Or
- you were in an environment contaminated with the body fluids of someone who had Lujo haemorrhagic fever, but you were wearing appropriate PPE
Or
- you have had contact with Lujo virus in a laboratory which did not meet containment level 4 requirements, but followed usual laboratory practice and you were wearing appropriate PPE
We would like to monitor you for a period of 21 days from when you were last exposed to Lujo virus. This will mean that we can act quickly in the unlikely event that you develop symptoms, reducing the risks to you and to others close to you.
What you need to do
Your family and household contacts are not at risk of catching Lujo virus from you if you do not have any symptoms.
You should take the following actions for 21 days from when you were last exposed to Lujo virus:
- record your temperature and monitor yourself for other symptoms suggestive of Lujo haemorrhagic fever (as listed above) twice per day at the same times each day
- report to your designated contact if you develop a temperature of 37.5°C or higher, or other symptoms suggestive of Lujo haemorrhagic fever, so that they can arrange for you to be assessed. They will explain the local arrangements for accessing healthcare
- there are no restrictions on work, travel or social activities as long as you have no symptoms
- do not share towels, bed linen, toothbrushes or razors as a precaution
- use barrier contraception or avoid unprotected sexual contact with other people as a precaution
- postpone any non-essential medical or dental treatment including vaccination. If you need essential medical or dental treatment, inform your healthcare provider about your possible contact with Lujo virus
Use of medicines such as aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen
Certain medicines, such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin, can reduce your body temperature during a fever (antipyretic) for up to 8 hours. Thermometer measurements may therefore show a lower temperature than would be expected for up to 8 hours after taking an antipyretic.
You must call your designated contact for further advice if you need to take an antipyretic medicine.
Please take your temperature before you take paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin. If your temperature is 37.5°C or higher, you must call your contact immediately.
A temperature of 37.5°C or higher is always significant, whether you are taking one of these medicines or not, and must be reported urgently.
What to do if you become ill
It is unlikely that you have caught Lujo virus. However, if you are feeling unwell or develop any of the symptoms of Lujo haemorrhagic fever (including a temperature of 37.5°C or higher) within 21 days from when you had contact with Lujo virus, please stay at home. Take your temperature if you have not done this already. Phone your designated contact immediately, who will arrange for you to be assessed by an appropriate clinician. In an emergency, you should call 999 and tell them about your symptoms and possible contact with Lujo virus.
Further information
More information about Lujo haemorrhagic fever can be found at: