**5.4 Complications of lassa fever in pregnancy**

Lassa fever is especially dangerous in pregnant women. Abortion is common in early pregnancy and intrauterine fetal death is common in later pregnancies. Abortion reduces the mortality rate in affected pregnant women. Prognosis is very poor in pregnant women as mortality rate may be up to 80%.

### **5.5 Sensorineural deafness**

This is the commonest complication of Lassa fever. It is not related to the severity of disease as it may occur with the same frequency in both mild and severe forms of the disease.
