How to Pronounce Lassa Fever

Lassa fever is pronounced "LAS-ah FEE-ver." The first word rhymes with "class," and the second word sounds like "fee" (as in the word "fee" you pay for something) plus "ver" (like "over" without the "o"). The stress falls on the first syllable: LAS-ah.

"Lassa" breaks into two syllables: LAS-ah. "Fever" also breaks into two syllables: FEE-ver. Together, it's a four-syllable phrase: LAS-ah FEE-ver.

The stress falls on the first syllable of each word: LAS-ah FEE-ver. Many people mistakenly stress the second syllable and say "las-AH," but the correct way emphasizes the beginning of each word.

"Fever" means a high body temperature. In medical terms, when a disease name includes the word "fever," it tells you that high body temperature is a key feature of that illness. Other fever-related illnesses you might hear about include yellow fever or dengue fever.

"Lassa" comes from Lassa, a town in Nigeria in West Africa. Medical conditions are sometimes named after the place where they were first discovered or identified. This helps doctors and scientists remember where the illness originated.

Lassa fever is a serious viral illness. You can think of it as a type of disease caused by a virus, similar to how a cold or flu is caused by a virus, but Lassa fever is more severe. It was first discovered and identified in a town called Lassa.

Lassa fever is sometimes shortened to just "Lassa" when doctors are speaking or writing about it in medical contexts. You might also see it abbreviated as "LF," though this is less common in everyday medical conversation.

The word "fever" just means high body temperature, so many illnesses have fever as a symptom. "Lassa fever" is the specific name for one particular viral illness. Other fevers you might hear about—like malaria or typhoid fever—are different diseases caused by different germs, but they all have fever as part of their name because high temperature is involved.