New Hemorrhagic Fever-Associated Arenavirus from Africa Identified

Other symptoms included fever, shock, coma, and organ failure.

Pyrosequencing of RNA extracts from serum and tissues of the victims enabled identification and detailed phylogenetic characterization within 72 hours of sample receipt. Full genome analyses of LUJV showed it to be unique and branching off the ancestral node of the Old World arenaviruses. It is distantly related to Lassa virus, another viral pathogen found in Africa.

It's not clear how the first person became infected, but the virus belongs to a family of viruses found in rodents, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist involved in the discovery of the virus from the Center for Infection and Immunity, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University (New York, NY, USA).

Related Links:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University