Clinical presentation of lassa fever cases during the hospital epidemic at Zorzor, Liberia, March-April 1972 *

Mertens, Pierre; Patton, Robert J.; Baum, Jana; Monath, Thomas P.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1973.22.780

Cited by 58 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…Clinical symptoms reported at presentation largely matched the known symptoms of Lassa fever [10], [14]–[20]. The only symptom that was significantly more frequent among fatal cases was bleeding (p = 0.0001).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Late complications include pleural and pericardial effusions, facial edema, bleeding, convulsion, and coma. In the terminal stage patients often go into shock, although bleeding itself is usually not of a magnitude to produce shock [10], [14]–[22]. The only drug with a proven therapeutic effect in humans is the nucleoside analogue ribavirin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular Diagnostics for Lassa Fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: Lessons Learnt from Two Years of Laboratory Operation

et al. 2012

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BackgroundLassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in West Africa. However, none of the hospitals in the endemic areas of Nigeria has the capacity to perform Lassa virus diagnostics. Case identification and management solely relies on non-specific clinical criteria. The Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) in the central senatorial district of Edo State struggled with this challenge for many years.Methodology/Principal FindingsA laboratory for molecular diagnosis of Lassa fever, complying with basic standards of diagnostic PCR facilities, was established at ISTH in 2008. During 2009 through 2010, samples of 1,650 suspected cases were processed, of which 198 (12%) tested positive by Lassa virus RT-PCR. No remarkable demographic differences were observed between PCR-positive and negative patients. The case fatality rate for Lassa fever was 31%. Nearly two thirds of confirmed cases attended the emergency departments of ISTH. The time window for therapeutic intervention was extremely short, as 50% of the fatal cases died within 2 days of hospitalization—often before ribavirin treatment could be commenced. Fatal Lassa fever cases were older (p = 0.005), had lower body temperature (p<0.0001), and had higher creatinine (p<0.0001) and blood urea levels (p<0.0001) than survivors. Lassa fever incidence in the hospital followed a seasonal pattern with a peak between November and March. Lassa virus sequences obtained from the patients originating from Edo State formed—within lineage II—a separate clade that could be further subdivided into three clusters.Conclusions/SignificanceLassa fever case management was improved at a tertiary health institution in Nigeria through establishment of a laboratory for routine diagnostics of Lassa virus. Data collected in two years of operation demonstrate that Lassa fever is a serious public health problem in Edo State and reveal new insights into the disease in hospitalized patients.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Diagnostics for Lassa Fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: Lessons Learnt from Two Years of Laboratory Operation

et al. 2012

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“…The two control animals (vaccinated with irrelevant VSVΔG/ZEBOVGP) started to show clinical signs of illness on day 3, when one of the animals had a fever (defined as a temperature over 104 °F). By day 10, both control animals developed macular rashes and anorexia, and one animal had severe facial edema, which is prognostic for a poor outcome in humans [31]. These control animals succumbed to the Lassa virus challenge and were euthanized on day 11 and day 13, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a New Vaccine for the Prevention of Lassa Fever

et al. 2005

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BackgroundRecent importation of Lassa fever into Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States by travelers on commercial airlines from Africa underscores the public health challenge of emerging viruses. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines for Lassa fever, and no experimental vaccine has completely protected nonhuman primates against a lethal challenge.Methods and FindingsWe developed a replication-competent vaccine against Lassa virus based on attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing the Lassa viral glycoprotein. A single intramuscular vaccination of the Lassa vaccine elicited a protective immune response in nonhuman primates against a lethal Lassa virus challenge. Vaccine shedding was not detected in the monkeys, and none of the animals developed fever or other symptoms of illness associated with vaccination. The Lassa vaccine induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses in the four vaccinated and challenged monkeys. Despite a transient Lassa viremia in vaccinated animals 7 d after challenge, the vaccinated animals showed no evidence of clinical disease. In contrast, the two control animals developed severe symptoms including rashes, facial edema, and elevated liver enzymes, and ultimately succumbed to the Lassa infection.ConclusionOur data suggest that the Lassa vaccine candidate based on recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus is safe and highly efficacious in a relevant animal model that faithfully reproduces human disease.

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“…Contamination of human food with LASV-infected urine of Mastomys is considered to be the most common route of transmission. Nosocomial epidemics with case fatality up to 65% have been reported in Liberia [2,6] and Nigeria. [7][8][9] The disease has two geographically endemic areas separated by 2000 km with little evidence of virus circulation in Benin, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Mali.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…LF usually manifests with fever, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, chest, and abdominal pain. [2,3] The autochthonous peri-domestic rodent Mastomys natalensis is the natural reservoir of LASV. [4,5] Mastomys exhibit persistent, asymptomatic infection, and profuse urinary virus excretion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a time-trend model for analyzing and predicting case-pattern of Lassa fever epidemics in Liberia, 2013-2017

et al. 2015

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Clinical presentation of lassa fever cases during the hospital epidemic at Zorzor, Liberia, March-April 1972 *

Cited by 58 publications

References 0 publications

Molecular Diagnostics for Lassa Fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: Lessons Learnt from Two Years of Laboratory Operation

Molecular Diagnostics for Lassa Fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: Lessons Learnt from Two Years of Laboratory Operation

Development of a New Vaccine for the Prevention of Lassa Fever

Development of a time-trend model for analyzing and predicting case-pattern of Lassa fever epidemics in Liberia, 2013-2017

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