Diagnostic Applications for Lassa Fever in Limited-resource Settings

Overview

Journal BMJ Glob Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2019 Mar 23

PMID 30899576

Citations 7

Authors

Devy M Emperador

Solomon A Yimer

Laura T Mazzola

Gunnstein Norheim

Cassandra Kelly-Cirino

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Lassa fever, caused by arenavirus Lassa virus (LASV), is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease that affects up to an estimated 300 000 individuals and causes up to 5000 deaths per year in West Africa. Currently available LASV diagnostic methods are difficult to operationalise in low-resource health centres and may be less sensitive to detecting all known or emerging LASV strains. To prioritise diagnostic development for LASV, we assessed the diagnostic applications for case detection, clinical management, surveillance, outbreak response, and therapeutic and vaccine development at various healthcare levels. Diagnostic development should prioritise point-of-care and near-patient diagnostics, especially those with the ability to detect all lineages of LASV, as they would allow for rapid detection in resource-limited health facilities closer to the patient.

Citing Articles

Rapid diagnostic test: a critical need for outbreak preparedness and response for high priority pathogens.

Yimer S, Booij B, Tobert G, Hebbeler A, Oloo P, Brangel P BMJ Glob Health. 2024; 9(4).

PMID: 38688565 PMC: 11085978. DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014386.

Seroepidemiology of Lassa virus in pregnant women in Southern Nigeria: A prospective hospital-based cohort study.

Kayem N, Okogbenin S, Okoeguale J, Momoh M, Njoku A, Eifediyi R PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023; 17(5):e0011354.

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Transplacental transfer of Lassa IgG antibodies in pregnant women in Southern Nigeria: A prospective hospital-based cohort study.

Kayem N, Okogbenin S, Okoeguale J, Eigbefoh J, Ikheloa J, Eifediyi R PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023; 17(4):e0011209.

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Boosting understanding of Lassa Fever virus epidemiology: Field testing a novel assay to identify past Lassa Fever virus infection in blood and oral fluids of survivors and unexposed controls in Sierra Leone.

Akpogheneta O, Dicks S, Grant D, Kanneh Z, Jusu B, Edem-Hotah J PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021; 15(3):e0009255.

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Antibodies from Sierra Leonean and Nigerian Lassa fever survivors cross-react with recombinant proteins representing Lassa viruses of divergent lineages.

Heinrich M, Boisen M, Nelson D, Bush D, Cross R, Koval A Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):16030.

PMID: 32994446 PMC: 7525497. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72539-w.

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