Lassa Virus News and Research

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Lassa virus or Lassa viral haemorrhagic fever is an acute illness of 1-4 weeks duration that occurs in West Africa. Though first described in the 1950s, the virus causing the disease was not identified until 1969. The virus is a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the virus family Arenaviridae. Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Guinea (Conakry), Liberia, Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria, but probably exists in other West African countries as well.

CEPI and University of Oxford launch new project to initiate vaccine development against Junín virus

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the University of Oxford today announced the launch of a new project to initiate early development of prototype vaccines against the Junín virus, selected as an exemplar of the Arenavirus family which is responsible for multiple deadly hemorrhagic fevers with epidemic and pandemic potential.

6 Nov 2023

UTMB research potentially points to an effective treatment for Lassa fever

New research out of the University of Texas Medical Branch potentially points to an effective treatment for Lassa fever, a dangerous, often fatal disease common to much of West Africa but considered a major threat to global health.

24 Aug 2023

Potential of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for future monoclonal antibodies against severe SARS-CoV-2 inflammation

Researchers report that convalescent plasma treatment is most effective in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

17 Aug 2023

CEPI and HMRI partner to accelerate development of pandemic vaccines

CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), have today announced a partnership to combine cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology with established laboratory techniques to speed up development of future vaccines against novel viral threats (also known as Disease X).

18 Jul 2023

Lassa virus vaccine induces rapid protection in an animal model

Scientists have developed a novel Lassa vaccine using a recombinant measles virus and tested its protective efficacy against Lassa fever. A single vaccine dose has been found to induce a rapid and robust immune response in monkeys with pre-existing immunity against the measles virus.

14 Mar 2023

Study suggests bats are an underrecognized arenavirus reservoir

Researchers reported the detection of arenavirus RNA from various species of bats sampled between 2007 and 2011 from Brazil.

21 Nov 2022

Study provides a guide to neutralizing Lassa virus using a trio of rare antibodies

A new study from scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) gives researchers a guide to neutralizing Lassa virus using a trio of rare antibodies isolated from survivors of Lassa virus infection.

26 Oct 2022

Areas hospitable to Lassa virus spread may extend in the next several decades

In the study, which appeared on September 27 in Nature Communications, scientists analyzed decades of environmental data associated with Lassa virus outbreaks, revealing temperature, rainfall and the presence of pastureland areas as key factors contributing to viral transmission.

27 Sep 2022

How natural alterations inside the SARS-CoV-2 glycan barrier affect spike protein dynamics

Researchers explored how the natural alterations inside the SARS-CoV-2 glycan barrier affect the spike protein dynamics.

22 Aug 2022

New vaccine shows promise to fight Lassa virus

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have achieved success with a new vaccine developed to fight Lassa Virus, a pathogen that causes Lassa fever.

19 Jul 2022

Study shows how a critical Lassa virus protein drives infection

Lassa fever is a viral illness that is far too common in West Africa. Although it can have a mortality rate of 15 percent in severe cases, up to 90% in pregnant women, and causes deafness in a quarter of survivors, there is no vaccine or antiviral to protect against Lassa virus.

19 Jul 2022

Com-COV 3 study focuses on assessing a third dose booster vaccination for young people aged 12 to 15

The Com-COV 3 study has been commissioned through the NIHR and backed by £2.8 million government funding, with support from both the Vaccine Taskforce and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

7 Jun 2022

The biochemical mechanisms of remdesivir-mediated RNA synthesis inhibition

A new preprint suggests a fruitful approach to develop such drugs based on biochemical and molecular modeling studies of the drug remdesivir.

19 Oct 2021

Recognizing viral genomes in quick, ‘CRISP’ ways

Researchers from China recently reviewed the latest advancements, applications, and prospects of virus detection using CRISPR-Cas systems.

27 Aug 2021

CEPI and IVI announce new research program to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in Africa

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the International Vaccine Institute today announced a new programme of clinical research which aims to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in Africa.

20 Jul 2021

UTMB researchers receive $11.3 million grant to study immunopathogenesis of Ebola

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have been awarded an $11.3 Million, multi-year grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study immunopathogenesis of Ebola, and in particular to determine why cells infected with Ebola develop "immune system paralysis," which inhibits immune response, leads to hyperinflammation, and allows the deadly infection to spread.

7 May 2021

Researchers present COVID RdRp structure at 2.5A

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint publication, Christopher J. Russo et al. report the structure of favipiravir ribonucleoside triphosphate (favipiravir-RTP) in complex with the SARS-CoV-2 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) bound to a template: primer RNA duplex. They determine the structure by electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) to a resolution of 2.5 Å.

26 Oct 2020

Using virus-like particles to study SARS-CoV-2 assembly, budding, and entry

In a recent preprint paper published on the bioRxiv server, researchers from the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology, and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, discuss their efforts to assess the 4 SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins for their ability to produce VLPs from human cells to create a competent system for BSL-2 studies of SARS-CoV-2.

6 Oct 2020

NIAID awards $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the National Institutes of Health, today announced that it has awarded 11 grants with a total first-year value of approximately $17 million to establish the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

27 Aug 2020

Viruses can steal genetic signals from hosts to expand their own genomes

Like a scene out of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," a virus infects a host and converts it into a factory for making more copies of itself.

19 Jun 2020