NJ Man Dies of Lassa Fever After Liberia

Health authorities said Monday a New Jersey man died of the viral disease Lassa Fever after visiting Liberia earlier this month. The disease, which can have similar symptoms to Ebola, is less infectious and less likely to be fatal. An estimated 1 percent of Lassa patients died compared to about 70 percent of Ebola patients, the NYT reports. Lassa Fever is also more common in West Africa and rarely seen in the U.S. The unidentified patient did not have any symptoms when he traveled from Liberia to Morocco and arrived in New York on May 17, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. People who had contact with the patient will be monitored for 21 days, the CDC said. The patient is the sixth known case of Lassa fever in travelers returning to the U.S. since 1969.