Purpose
While viral hemorrhagic fevers, like Lassa fever, are very serious, they are not common in the U.S. However, it is important for doctors and advanced practice nurses to be familiar with the risk factors, endemic areas, incubation period and clinical presentation of viruses, like Lassa virus, so they can appropriately diagnose their patients.
What you will learn
This video provides an overview of Lassa fever for clinicians. Background information on Lassa fever in this video provides context for health care providers as they move through additional modules that focus on the epidemiology and clinical presentation of Lassa fever, as well as diagnostics and treatment.
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
- Describe the epidemiology of Lassa fever.
- Describe the clinical presentation of Lassa fever.
- Identify 2 methods to diagnose Lassa fever in clinical settings.
- Describe the considerations for clinical management of Lassa fever.
- Describe my scope of practice as a team member in identifying or diagnosing Lassa fever.
Training information
CE origination date: June 3, 2024
CE expiration date: June 3, 2026
Prerequisites: General knowledge of infectious diseases.
Format: This activity is Web-on-Demand.
Instructions for obtaining continuing education (CE)
To receive continuing education (CE) for WD4851- Lassa Fever: What healthcare professionals need to know to recognize, treat, and prevent Lassa fever, please visit CDC TRAIN and search for the course in the Course Catalog using WD4851.
Follow the steps below by June 3, 2026.
- Register for and complete the course.
- Pass the post-assessment at [75]%.
- Complete the evaluation.
- Visit Your Learning to access your certificates and transcript.
No fees are charged for CDC's CE activities.
Accreditation statement
In support of improving patient care, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
CME: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
CNE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this activity for 0.75 nursing contact hours.
Disclosure: In compliance with continuing education requirements, all planners and presenters must disclose all financial relationships, in any amount, with ineligible companies during the previous 24 months as well as any use of unlabeled product(s) or products under investigational use.
CDC, our planners, and content experts wish to disclose they have no financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
Content will not include any discussion of the unlabeled use of a product or a product under investigational use with the exception of Dr. Aaron Kofman's discussion of Lassa fever treatment. He will be discussing the summative clinical evidence to date for the use of ribavirin, favipiravir and monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Lassa fever. He does not provide original data on these topics.
CDC did not accept financial or in-kind support from ineligible companies for this continuing education activity.