But it would be most effective when the patient first gets it. Lassa fever is an acute febrile illness caused by an arenavirus lassa virus first isolated in 1969 from patients in nigeria. Abstract lassa virus lasv is a singlestranded rna virus that has plagued the subsaharan part of. Pathophysiology and treatment of lassa fever springerlink. Infection with lassa virus in humans may take many forms. Only 20% of people who contract lassa fever have severe multisystem trauma, meaning that 80% of people have only the milder symptoms. Lassa virus is endemic to west africa and causes hemorrhagic fever in humans. As i was reading in my research, i began to realize the risk the virus has on people. Lassa virus can cause a hemorrhagic disease called lassa fever and is endemic to western africa. Javascript is disabled or is not supported by your browser.
Enzyme linked immunosorbent assays for detecting igm and igg, as well as lassa antigen are commonly used to diagnose lasv infection in humans and are commercially available relasv. Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic fever endemic to west africa and caused by lassa virus, an old world arenavirus. It is spread through contact with infected rodents or their droppings, or through close contact with a person who is sick with lassa fever. Lassa virus was discovered in 1969 by a team led by dr. Improved detection of lassa virus by reverse transcriptionpcr targeting the 5 region of s rna. Virus isolation can only be done in a bsl4 laboratory. Kent campbell, an epidemiologist at the at lanta center, developed a. Lassa fever is an animalborne, or zoonotic, acute viral illness. An acute, highly communicable exotic infection that is endemic in western africa. Lassa fever lf belongs to a group of viral hemorrhagic fevers characterized by a febrile syndrome and high casefatality rates. It has also been found that most cases of lassa fever occur as the seasons change from dry to wet.
An acute form of hemorrhagic fever endemic to west africa that is caused by an arenavirus transmitted by a species of rat and is characterized by fever. Structure lysogenic vs lytic airborne transmitted virus mastomys rodents urine or droppings person to person blood body. Lassa virus, the causative agent of lassa fever, is a member of the family arenaviridae. People can get lassa fever through people with lassa fever are not believed to be contagious before they. Lassa virus is a member of the old world arenaviruses, and, as such, is endemic in western africa. The virus is spread by a rat that lives in large numbers in west, central, and east africa. This page lists the evag products having been related to the lassa virus virus name. Cure an antiviral drug, has been used with success in lassa fever patients. Lassa virus has an incubation period of 124 days and death usually occurs within 12 days after the onset. Lassa fever in nigeria watch level 1, practice usual. Reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction rtpcr is considered the gold standard. Feb 06, 20 lassa fever lf is an acute and sometimes severe viral hemorrhagic illness endemic in west africa. Such infections are often asymptomatic, but in those who become ill, the disease can range from an uncomplicated fever of unknown origin to a fulminating hemorrhagic disease.
Started in 1995, this collection now contains 6767 interlinked topic pages divided into a tree of 31 specialty books and 732 chapters. National notifiable diseases surveillance system nndss note. When symptoms occur they typically include fever, weakness, headaches, vomiting, and muscle pains. Redeemers varsity develops 10mins lassa fever testkit. Lassa virus, which is a member of the arenaviridae virus family, causes acute viral hemorrhagic fever. Details of lassa virus structure could inform development. Lassa virus a taxonomic species within the genus arenavirus endemic in west africa, responsible for lassa hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates. It is endemic in parts of west africa including sierra leone, liberia, guinea and nigeria. To facilitate the functional analysis of this virus, a replicon system was developed based on lassa virus strain av. Mar 22, 1974 the mobile unit was used once before, in an outbreak of lassa fever in sierra leone in 1972, when dr. Chemotherapy of lassa virus infection springerlink. The mobile unit was used once before, in an outbreak of lassa fever in sierra leone in 1972, when dr. Lassa virus synonyms, lassa virus pronunciation, lassa virus translation, english dictionary definition of lassa virus.
This page was last edited on 2 december 2018, at 18. Lassa fever is caused by a single stranded rna virus and is a disseminated systemic primary viral infection. Author summary lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever disease that is transmitted to humans primarily through contact with the urine or feces of infected rodents. The disease is endemic in west africa, and an unusually large outbreak occurred in nigeria in early 2018. Late rainy and early dry season affects all age groups and both sexes. A human antibody from an african survivor teal is shown anchoring to the base of the lassa virus surface protein, locking it in position to prevent the virus. Lassa fever is caused by infection with the lassa virus. A 10year lassa virus research project has yielded structural and functional details of a key viral surface protein that could help advance development of lassa vaccines and antibodybased. Kent campbell, an epidemiologist at the at lanta center, developed a mysterious high fever.
The animal reservoir of the lassa fever virus is a rat, mastomys natalensis. Sequence variability and geographic distribution of lassa. The additional filters enable you with creating a subselection of items of this list. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Lassa antibody and antigen were found in 96 11% and 46 5%, respectively, of 884 tested mastomys demby et al. Pdf the method of choice for the detection of lassa virus is reverse transcription rtpcr. Lassavirus synonyms, lassavirus pronunciation, lassavirus translation, english dictionary definition of lassavirus. The function annotations of st3gal4 in human lamp1 and. The above image is 500 pixels across, the original measures 5000 pixels across. The newest way to fight ovarian cancer might just be a. Lf differs from most viral hemorrhagic fevers in that it is endemic to a large geographic area of subsaharan africa. Caused by an arenavirus the lassa virus, it is characterized by high fever, weakness, headaches, mouth ulcers, hemorrhages under the skin, heart and kidney failure, and a high mortality rate.
The search engine above will seek products into the complete catalogue. Details of lassa virus structure could inform development of vaccines, therapies. Lassa virus article about lassa virus by the free dictionary. What you need to know about lassa fever 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april 6 april estimated number of lassa fever cases in west africa each year death rate from ebola death rate from lassa fever estimated number of deaths lassa fever is caused by a virus that is found in west africa. Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease that commonly manifests as an acute viral hemorrhagic fever. The case fatality rate was 25% among confirmed cases, underscoring the need for an effective antiviral therapy. Lassa mammarenavirus lasv is an arenavirus that causes lassa hemorrhagic fever, a type of viral hemorrhagic fever vhf, in humans and other primates.
It may be fatal, but most patients recover from acute disease and some experience asymptomatic infection. The lassa virus is a contagious virus that causes headaches, muscle pain, facial swelling, hearing loss, and possibly, death. It was first reported in 1969 in the town of lassa, in borno state, nigeria. Natal multimammate mouse is the primary reservoir of lassa virus, found in subsaharan africa. A historical look at the first reported cases of lassa fever. Lassa was strange to me because i have never heard of the virus before.
It is an acute febrile viral illness lasting one to four weeks, and it occurs in west africa and some areas beyond. Lassa fever lf is an acute and sometimes severe viral hemorrhagic illness endemic in west africa. The lassa virus is a vulgar virus with a high mortality rate and an expensive cure. Lassavirus definition of lassavirus by medical dictionary. Lassa virus is a virulent and highly transmissible rna virus that belongs to the arenavirus group. Immune responses and lassa virus infection europe pmc. Lassa mammarenavirus is an emerging virus and a select agent, requiring biosafety level 4equivalent containment.
Chukwudozie department of cell biology and genetics, university of lagos, lagos, nigeria. Lassa fever is an illness caused by lassa virus, a singlestranded rna hemorrhagic fever virus from the family arenaviridae. Lassa virus lasv is a member of the old world complex of viruses, genus arenavirus, family arenaviridae, which also includes lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus lcmv and lujo virus. A new virus carried by programs embedded in adobes pdf file format files raises concerns that the format itself could become susceptible to viruses. For this reason, some items on this page will be unavailable. It was first described in northeastern nigeria in 1969, and it is endemic in west africa 1. Lassa virus definition of lassa virus by the free dictionary. Lassa fever is a viral illness that occurs in west africa. Details of lassa virus structure could inform development of. Neighboring countries are also at risk, as the animal vector for lassa virus, the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis is distributed throughout the region. However, the full extent of lassas endemicity is unknown due to poor mean of contact and communication with the rural villages where lassa is surely seen, a factor that prevents both reporting and treatment of infection. The multimammate mouse mastomys natalensis is the only known nonhuman host for lassa virus monath et al. They carry the virus in their urine and droppings and live in homes and areas where food is stored. Lassa fever, also known as lassa hemorrhagic fever lhf, is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the lassa virus.
General facts viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the arenavirus lassa transmitted from rodents to humans discovered in nigeria, 1969 endemic in portions of west africa seasonal clustering. Lassavirus definition of lassavirus by the free dictionary. Many of those infected by the virus do not develop symptoms. The function annotations of st3gal4 in human lamp1 and lassa virus gpc interaction from the perspective of systems virology onyeka s. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. While lassa fever is mild or has no observable symptoms in about 80% of people infected with the virus, the remaining 20% have a more severe multisystem. Lassa virus definition of lassa virus by medical dictionary. Lassa virus the rna virus that causes lassa fever arenavirus animal viruses belonging to the family arenaviridae arenaviridae a family of. Lassa fever full recovery without ribavarin treatment. It usually causes mild symptoms, including slight fever, weakness, and headache. Home news redeemers varsity develops 10mins lassa fever testkit. In 1972, the rodent reservoir of lassa virus was identified as the multimammate rat mastomys natalensis. A potent lassa virus antiviral targets an arenavirus.