Circulation of Lassa virus across the endemic Edo-Ondo axis, Nigeria, with cross-species transmission between multimammate mice

Adesina, Adetunji Samuel; Oyeyiola, Akinlabi; Obadare, Adeoba; Igbokwe, Joseph; Abejegah, Chukwuyem; Akhilomen, Patience; Bangura, Umaru; Asogun, D.; Tobin, Ekaete Alice; Ayodeji, Oladele Oluwafemi; Osoniyi, Omolaja; Davis, Chris; Thomson, Emma C.; Pahlmann, Meike; Günther, Stephan; Fichet‐Calvet, Elisabeth; Olayemi, Ayodeji

doi:10.1080/22221751.2023.2219350

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…In localities where M. erythroleucus was infected with LASV, prevalence varied between 5 and 37% (3/63 in Onmba-abena or 10/68 in Ebudin in Nigeria, and 6/16 in Madina Oula in Guinea), indicating that this species is highly competent for the virus. According to phylogenetic studies, it seems that this species may have only recently acquired the capacity to act as a reservoir, for approximately 50 years in Madina Oula in Guinea, 10 years in Onmba-abena and 10 years in Ebudin in Nigeria [ 42 , 43 ]. Furthermore, the level of antibodies against LASV was significant, varying from 7 to 18% (4/34 in Upper Guinea, 2/14 in Bo, Sierra Leone and 11/63 in Onmba-abena, Nigeria) suggesting active circulation of the virus in that species [ 22 , 44 , 45 ]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa

Bangura,

Davis,

Lamin

et al. 2024

Emerging Microbes & Infections

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The spread of Lassa virus (LASV) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which together are named the Mano River Union (MRU) area, was examined phylogeographically. To provide a reliable evolutionary scenario, new rodent-derived, whole LASV sequences were included. These were generated by metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing from rodents sampled between 2003 and 2020 in 21 localities of Guinea and Sierra Leone. An analysis was performed using BEAST to perform continuous phylogeographic inference and EvoLaps v36 to visualize spatio-temporal spread. LASV was identified as expected in its primary host reservoir, the Natal multimammate mouse ( Mastomys natalensis ), and also in two Guinean multimammate mice ( Mastomys erythroleucus ) in northern Sierra Leone and two rusty-bellied brush-furred mice ( Lophuromys sikapusi ) in southern Sierra Leone. This finding is consistent with the latter two species being secondary host reservoirs. The strains in these three species were very closely related in LASV lineage IV. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the most recent common ancestor of lineage IV existed 316–374 years ago and revealed distinct, well-supported clades from Sierra Leone (Bo, Kabala and Kenema), Guinea (Faranah, Kissidougou-Guekedou and Macenta) and Liberia (Phebe-Ganta). The phylogeographic scenario suggests southern Guinea as the point of origin of LASV in the MRU area, with subsequent spread to towards Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone at a mean speed of 1.6 to 1.1 km/year.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa

Bangura,

Davis,

Lamin

et al. 2024

Emerging Microbes & Infections

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“…Ebudin is located in the endemic zone for Lassa fever in Nigeria, while Abagboro is considered to be in the non-epidemic part of the country. Rodent sampling in Ebudin, where LASV is frequently detected in Mastomys rodents [ 51 ], allowed us explore the association between the occurrence of MHC-I alleles and LASV prevalence. Additionally, trapping in Abagboro enabled us to compare MHC-I constitution in rodents between endemic and non-endemic localities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specimens were euthanised with the anaesthetic isoflurane and blood drawn by cardiac puncture. Using whole-blood samples, active LASV infection was determined via PCR [ 20 , 46 , 51 ] and previous infection by an Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) to detect IgG antibodies [ 46 , 52 ]. The virus strains from all PCR-positive Mastomys individuals in this study belong to LASV lineage II [ 51 ], known to circulate in southern Nigeria.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using whole-blood samples, active LASV infection was determined via PCR [ 20 , 46 , 51 ] and previous infection by an Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) to detect IgG antibodies [ 46 , 52 ]. The virus strains from all PCR-positive Mastomys individuals in this study belong to LASV lineage II [ 51 ], known to circulate in southern Nigeria. Because Mastomys species can be difficult to distinguish by external morphology, individual rodents were identified by sequencing a segment of mitochondrial Cytochrome b DNA from ethanol-preserved rodent kidneys, extracted using the DNeasy Blood & Tissue kit (Qiagen, Germany) according to manufacturer’s instructions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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MHC-I alleles mediate clearance and antibody response to the zoonotic Lassa virus in Mastomys rodent reservoirs

Olayemi,

Schmid,

Fleischer

et al. 2024

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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West African Mastomys rodents are the primary reservoir of the zoonotic Lassa virus (LASV). The virus causes haemorrhagic Lassa fever and considerable mortality in humans. To date, the role of Mastomys immunogenetics in resistance to, and persistence of, LASV infections is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC-I) on LASV infection status (i.e., active vs. cleared infection, determined via PCR and an immunofluorescence assay on IgG antibodies, respectively) in Mastomys natalensis and M. erythroleucus sampled within southwestern Nigeria. We identified more than 190 and 90 MHC-I alleles by Illumina high throughput-sequencing in M. natalensis and M. erythroleucus, respectively, with different MHC allele compositions and frequencies between LASV endemic and non-endemic sites. In M. natalensis, the MHC allele ManaMHC-I*006 was negatively associated with active infections (PCR-positive) and positively associated with cleared infections (IgG-positive) simultaneously, suggesting efficient immune responses that facilitate LASV clearance in animals carrying this allele. Contrarily, alleles ManaMHC-I*008 and ManaMHC-I*021 in M. natalensis, and MaerMHC-I*008 in M. erythroleucus, were positively associated with active infection, implying susceptibility. Alleles associated with susceptibility shared a glutamic acid at the positively selected codon 57, while ManaMHC-I*006 featured an arginine. There was no link between number of MHC alleles per Mastomys individual and LASV prevalence. Thus, specific alleles, but not MHC diversity per se, seem to mediate antibody responses to viremia. We conclude that co-evolution with LASV likely shaped the MHC-I diversity of the main LASV reservoirs in southwestern Nigeria, and that information on reservoir immunogenetics may hold insights into transmission dynamics and zoonotic spillover risks.

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“…Estimates suggest that Lassa virus infects hundreds of thousands of people and causes thousands of deaths annually 1 , 4 , 5 . The Natal multimammate mouse ( Mastomys natalensis ) is the primary reservoir host of Lassa virus 1 , 6 , 7 , although other rodent species may also play a role in viral maintenance 8 – 11 . Most human infections with Lassa virus are driven by rodent-to-human zoonotic spillover with little further transmission between people 3 , 12 – 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reservoir displacement by an invasive rodent reduces Lassa virus zoonotic spillover risk

Eskew,

Bird,

Ghersi

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a globally invasive species that has been widely introduced across Africa. Within its invasive range in West Africa, R. rattus may compete with the native rodent Mastomys natalensis, the primary reservoir host of Lassa virus, a zoonotic pathogen that kills thousands annually. Here, we use rodent trapping data from Sierra Leone and Guinea to show that R. rattus presence reduces M. natalensis density within the human dwellings where Lassa virus exposure is most likely to occur. Further, we integrate infection data from M. natalensis to demonstrate that Lassa virus zoonotic spillover risk is lower at sites with R. rattus. While non-native species can have numerous negative effects on ecosystems, our results suggest that R. rattus invasion has the indirect benefit of decreasing zoonotic spillover of an endemic pathogen, with important implications for invasive species control across West Africa.

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Circulation of Lassa virus across the endemic Edo-Ondo axis, Nigeria, with cross-species transmission between multimammate mice

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa

Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa

MHC-I alleles mediate clearance and antibody response to the zoonotic Lassa virus in Mastomys rodent reservoirs

Reservoir displacement by an invasive rodent reduces Lassa virus zoonotic spillover risk

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