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.

Remdesivir drug stops novel coronavirus from replicating

Scientists from the University of Alberta have published findings that the antiviral drug remdesivir prevents replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by inhibiting RNA replication. The study, published in April 2020 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, follows on the heels of earlier reports from the same lab in February, showing the drug's effectiveness against the related Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus.

15 Apr 2020

Investigational vaccine protects macaques against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an investigational vaccine that protected cynomolgus macaques against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses endemic to overlapping regions in Africa.

8 Nov 2019

Vaccine for Lassa fever set to enter clinical testing in humans

There is currently no vaccine for the Lassa arenavirus, which causes Lassa fever. This hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa, infects up to 300,000 people each year.

24 Oct 2019

Study reveals Lassa virus' soft spot

As this year's Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria is finally ebbing, the total tally came to more than 600 infected people, one-quarter of them dead. Thousands more die each year, uncounted in rural villages throughout West Africa.

9 Aug 2019

Harvard scientists uncover key mechanism that allows viruses to replicate

Viruses are masterful invaders. They cannibalize host cells by injecting their genetic material, often making thousands of copies of themselves in a single cell to ensure their replication and survival.

13 May 2019

New disease surveillance tool enables early detection of viral outbreaks

During the Zika virus outbreak of 2015-16, public health officials scrambled to contain the epidemic and curb the pathogen's devastating effects on pregnant women. At the same time, scientists around the globe tried to understand the genetics of this mysterious virus.

5 Feb 2019

A new vaccine shows promise in protecting people from rabies, Lassa fever

A novel vaccine designed to protect people from both Lassa fever and rabies showed promise in preclinical testing, according to new research published in Nature Communications.

12 Oct 2018

New vaccine shows effective protection in animal models of Lassa fever

Lassa fever belongs to the same class of hemorrhagic fevers as Ebola. Like Ebola, it has been a major health threat in Western Africa, infecting 100,000-300,000 people and killing 5,000 per year.

11 Oct 2018

Researchers decipher key component behind rising epidemic of pathogens in West Africa

A research team from several institutions being led by the University of California San Diego has deciphered a key component behind a rising epidemic of pathogens that the World Health Organization (WHO) recently added to its list of critical emerging diseases.

13 Jul 2018

Lassa fever epidemic in Nigeria beginning to slow, but concern remains

After nearly 400 confirmed infections and 100 deaths, the spread of Lassa fever in Nigeria is beginning to slow but the epidemic is far from contained, the World Health Organization and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control have warned.

28 Mar 2018

Lassa fever strikes in Nigeria - high rates of fatality with no cure and no vaccine

Nigeria has been affected with an outbreak of the deadly Lassa fever since the start of this year. This disease typically has a high rate of fatality, no known cure and no vaccines have been developed against it yet. This is an unprecedented outbreak of this disease that is spreading faster than before. It is infecting more individuals than health workers can handle with their limited resources, say official sources.

5 Mar 2018

Texas Biomed scientists develop new animal model that mimics key features of Zika infection

An alternative animal model that mimics key features of the Zika virus infection, including its lingering presence in bodily fluids, has been developed at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.

12 Dec 2017

New treatment protects nonhuman primates against Lassa fever eight days after infection

A collaborative team of scientists, led by a group at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, have successfully protected nonhuman primates against one of the most deadly viruses in the world, Lassa fever, eight days after they became infected.

6 Sep 2017

Tulane University receives $12 million NIH grant to develop drug and vaccine against Lassa fever

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Tulane University more than $12 million to test a promising drug treatment against Lassa fever and develop a vaccine against the deadly disease endemic in parts of West Africa.

11 Jul 2017

Researchers study Lassa fever patient's immune response and viral persistence

When an American nurse working in West Africa became ill with Lassa fever and was evacuated to the U.S. for treatment in 2016, it provided a rare opportunity.

22 Jun 2017

Researchers identify key Lassa virus structure using powerful Argonne X-rays

Before Ebola virus ever struck West Africa, locals were already on the lookout for a deadly pathogen: Lassa virus.

13 Jun 2017

TSRI study reveals first-ever structure of Lassa virus protein

Before Ebola virus ever struck West Africa, locals were already on the lookout for a deadly pathogen: Lassa virus. With thousands dying from Lassa every year-;and the potential for the virus to cause even larger outbreaks- researchers are committed to designing a vaccine to stop it.

1 Jun 2017