![]() The world urgently needs a vaccine against this potentially deadly pathogen.”įortunately, there has been major progress within Lassa fever vaccine research in recent years – with CEPI named as one of the top funders in this disease research in a report by the global thinktank Policy Cures Research.Ī signification portion of this funding is being used to support the development of five Lassa vaccines. Outbreaks continue to occur with worrying regularity – and, as the new research shows, their suitable ‘impact zone’ could increase in the future. “No vaccines currently exist for human use” says Breugelmans “yet the warning signs are there for all to see. In those that recover, hearing loss is commonly reported post-infection. On average, 1% of cases are fatal, with the disease especially risky for pregnant women in their third trimesters. These can range from mild headache and fever to vomiting, swelling of the face, pain in the chest, back and abdomen, and bleeding from body parts, including the eyes and nose. ![]() While the majority of patients will be asymptomatic, one in five will experience severe symptoms. For example earlier this year, three cases of Lassa fever were also reported in the UK following international travel and subsequent human-to-human transmission. Although rare, in addition to transmission via infected rodents, the virus can also be spread through person-to-person contact when coming into direct contact with bodily secretions from an infected patient. The potent mix of changing climatic factors, human encroachment into previously remote areas, and population growth may create the perfect environment for this virus to spread into Central and East Africa- and we must be better prepared.”Īt present, hundreds of thousands of cases are estimated to occur annually across countries including Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo, however the true disease burden is unknown and likely much higher than current assessments. “But this study shows that this might not necessarily be the case in the future. “Lassa fever has long been thought of as a disease solely affecting the West African region,” CEPI’s Director of Epidemiology, Gabrielle Breugelmans, explains. ![]() This latest study makes the case for the importance of CEPI’s investments and our ambition to develop a Lassa vaccine for routine immunisation. ![]() The pathogen has been on CEPI’s target list since its launch in 2017, with the Coalition establishing itself as one of the largest funders of Lassa fever research. It is typically carried and spread by a species of infected rodent known as the Natal Multimammate rat (scientific name Mastomys natalensis). Calculations on the number of people at risk also accounted for expected population growth in Africa over the next fifty years.įirst identified in two nurses in the town of Lassa, in remote Nigeria, in 1969, Lassa fever is a haemorrhagic disease, caused by a virus of the same name. Up to 600 million people could be at risk of developing the potentially deadly Lassa fever in the future as a result of climate change and other factors, a new study conducted by scientific experts at Scripp Research and the University of Brussels has found.Īfter analysing environmental data looking at factors like temperature, rainfall, and presence of pasturelands, the study, published last month in Nature Communications, warned that the virus could extend its reach from West Africa (where it causes regular outbreaks) to also become a public health problem in other regions in Africa. CEPI is the leading funder of research into vaccines against the potentially deadly virus. Climate change and other environmental factors could cause Lassa fever to spread to additional regions within Africa, new research predicts.
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