New opportunities for field research on the pathogenesis and treatment of Lassa fever

Unlike many viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), Lassa fever (LF) is not a rare disease that emerges only as sporadic cases or in outbreak form. Although surveillance is inadequate to determine the true incidence, up to 300,000 infections and 5000 deaths from LF are estimated to occur yearly. The highes...

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Published inAntiviral research Vol. 78; no. 1; pp. 103 - 115
Main Authors Khan, Sheik Humarr, Goba, Augustine, Chu, May, Roth, Cathy, Healing, Tim, Marx, Arthur, Fair, Joseph, Guttieri, Mary C., Ferro, Philip, Imes, Tiffany, Monagin, Corina, Garry, Robert F., Bausch, Daniel G.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.04.2008
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Africa, Western - epidemiology
Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use
Antiviral therapy
Arenavirus
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Incidence
Infant, Newborn
Lassa fever
Lassa Fever - drug therapy
Lassa Fever - epidemiology
Lassa Fever - physiopathology
Lassa Fever - virology
Lassa virus
Lassa virus - drug effects
Lassa virus - pathogenicity
Male
Pathogenesis
Pregnancy
Research - trends
Ribavirin
Ribavirin - therapeutic use
Viral hemorrhagic fever
West Africa
Africa, Western
Lassa fever
Antiviral therapy
Pathogenesis
West Africa
Lassa virus
Viral hemorrhagic fever
Ribavirin
Arenavirus
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Summary:Unlike many viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), Lassa fever (LF) is not a rare disease that emerges only as sporadic cases or in outbreak form. Although surveillance is inadequate to determine the true incidence, up to 300,000 infections and 5000 deaths from LF are estimated to occur yearly. The highest incidence is in the “Mano River Union (MRU) countries” of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Although civil unrest in this region over the past two decades has impeded capacity building and research, new-found peace in recent years presents new opportunities. In 2004, the Mano River Union Lassa Fever Network (MRU LFN) was established to assist MRU countries in the development of national and regional surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of LF. Here, we review the present literature on treatment and pathogenesis of LF and outline priorities for future research in the field made possible by the improved research capacity of the MRU LFN.
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ISSN:0166-3542
1872-9096
DOI:10.1016/j.antiviral.2007.11.003