Lassa fever is a severe febrile illness of man, first recognized in West Africa in 1969. During an epidemic in Sierra Leone, Lassa virus was isolated for the first time from wild rodents of Mastomys natalensis. A high prevalence of infected Mastomys was found in houses occupied by patients with Lassa fever. The data presented provide the first demonstration of an extra-human cycle of Lassa virus transmission and suggest that rodent control may be an effective method of limiting the disease.

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Lagos bat virus and an isolate from shrews (IbAn 27377), both from Nigeria, were found to be bullet-shaped and to mature intracytoplasmically in association with a distinct matrix. They were related to, but readily distinguishable from, rabies virus and each other by complement fixation and neutralization tests. The three viruses, including rabies, form a subgrouping within the rhabdoviruses.