CONGRESS 2023 - Lassa fever virus & emerging mammarenaviruses

The Arenaviridae have the dubious distinction of containing among their members one of greatest proportions of hazard group 4 viruses of any recognised taxonomic family. These viruses cause persistent asymptomatic infections in their rodent reservoirs, however zoonotic spill over often results in viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) and high mortality. Transmission to humans occurs via contact with infected rodent excreta, through contaminated food and inhalation of aerosols. Human to human transmission also occurs. In sub-Sharan West Africa, Lassa virus (LASV) has been identified as a VHF since 1969 and is endemic over much of rural Nigeria, the countries of Mano River Union, Ghana, Togo and Benin. From a global health security perspective, it is of significant international interest since it the most commonly imported VHF into non-endemic countries. In nearly every imported circumstance, the cryptic nature of Lassa fever and related difficulties in diagnosis, places enormous demand on clinical, laboratory and public health resources of the recipient country. Given our current understanding of LASV and other evolving members of the genus, attention should be focused on other new and emerging mammarenaviruses which have similar incubation times and could result in similar human disease with a propensity to overburden public health systems.

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