Aeromedical evacuation using an aircraft transit isolator of a patient with Lassa fever.

BACKGROUND

Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever only present in West Africa. The mortality rate is 1% and may reach 15% among hospitalized patients. Transmission between humans is mostly due to direct contact with infected body fluids. Aeromedical evacuation of patients with viral hemorrhagic fevers (such as Lassa fever) demands strict isolation measures. Only a few cases of such evacuations have been reported in the literature during the last 40 yr. The use of an aircraft transit isolator device could be helpful.

CASE REPORT

We report the aeromedical evacuation of a confirmed Lassa fever patient from Sierra Leone to Sweden with a dedicated air ambulance using an aircraft transit isolator. The patient was a 30-yr-old physician working for a nonprofit organization. The patient contracted the disease working with infected hospitalized patients. The duration of the mission between activation and arrival at the Swedish hospital was 36 h, which is within the World Health Organization recommendations.

DISCUSSION

Evacuation of patients with potentially lethal contagious infections is possible, but only with strict isolation measures. Specific protective equipment and isolator are mandatory. Medical and technical crews performing such evacuations should be trained in proper equipment use and the isolator should first be used with a low-risk patient to create minimal risk transport conditions.