Another of those fearsome hemorrhagic fevers, Lassa virus is a member of the Arenaviridae family.
If you learn nothing more about Lassa fever, learn about Aniru Conteh.
For over two decades, Conteh risked his life running the only dedicated Lassa fever ward in the world during the Sierra Leone Civil War and the civil war in neighboring Liberia. With little funding and few supplies, Conteh successfully reduced mortality rates, saving thousands of lives until his own death from the disease in 2004.
With no hyperbole, he was a hero in times sorely lacking them.
