ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Madam Koi Koi

Madam koi koi is an insect that lives in Nigeria, which can cause a disease called Lassa fever. Imagine there is a tiny little bug that sneaks into people's homes and feeds on food and garbage. This bug is so small that you can barely see it with your eyes. Madam koi koi is like that. She sneaks into people's homes and feeds on things, but if someone gets bitten by her, they can get very sick.

Lassa fever is a very bad sickness that can make you feel very tired, give you a headache, and make your body hurt. Just like when we get a cold, our body tries to fight off the sickness by making us feel really hot and making us sweat. That's how we know our bodies are trying to get rid of the bad stuff. But madam koi koi is really smart, and she's really good at fooling our bodies. When our bodies try to attack her, she can hide inside our cells where our body's weapons can't find her. So she can keep attacking us and making us feel really sick.

To stay healthy and keep madam koi koi away, we need to keep our homes clean and keep all of our food safely in containers. We should also be really careful when we see a bug, especially one that we don't recognize. We should tell an adult or a doctor if we feel sick or if we see any bugs that we think might be madam koi koi. That way, they can help us get better and keep everyone safe from this sneaky little bug.