Abstract
Individuals living in endemic hotspots of Lassa fever have recurrent exposure to Lassa virus (LASV) via spillover from the primary host reservoir Mastomys natalensis. Despite M. natalensis being broadly distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, Lassa fever is only found in West Africa. In recent years, new LASV reservoirs have been identified. Erudition of rodent habitats, reproduction and fecundity, movement patterns, and spatial preferences are essential to institute preventative measures against Lassa fever. Evolutionary insights have also added to our knowledge of closely related mammarenavirus distribution amongst rodents throughout the continent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agbonlahor DE, Erah A, Agba IM, Oviasogie FE, Ehiaghe AF, Wankasi M, Eremwanarue OA, Ehiaghe IJ, Ogbu EC, Iyen RI, Abbey S (2017) Prevalence of Lassa virus among rodents trapped in three south-south states of Nigeria. J Vector Borne Dis 54(2):146–150. https://www.nimr.org.in/assets/542146.pdf%0A, https://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&PAGE=reference&D=emexb&NEWS=N&AN=617660716
Akoua-Koffi C, Ter Meulen J, Legros D et al (2006) Detection of anti-Lassa antibodies in the Western Forest area of the Ivory Coast. Med Trop (Mars) 66(5):465–468
Andersen KG, Shapiro BJ, Matranga CB et al (2015) Clinical sequencing uncovers origins and evolution of Lassa virus. Cell 162(4):738–750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.07.020
Arata AA, Gratz NG (1975) The structure of rodent faunas associated with arenaviral infections. Bull World Health Organ 52(4–5 6):621–627
Attinsounon CA, Ossibi Ibara BR, Alassani A et al (2018) Report of a fatal case of Lassa fever in Parakou in 2018: clinical, therapeutic and diagnostic aspects. BMC Infect Dis 18(1):1–4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-3587-6
Bausch DG, Demby AH, Coulibaly M et al (2001) Lassa fever in Guinea: I. Epidemiology of human disease and clinical observations. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 1(4):269–281. https://doi.org/10.1089/15303660160025903
Blasdell KR, Duong V, Eloit M et al (2016) Evidence of human infection by a new mammarenavirus endemic to Southeastern Asia. Elife 5(JUN2016). https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13135
Bonner PC, Schmidt W-P, Belmain SR, Oshin B, Baglole D, Borchert M (2007) Poor housing quality increases risk of rodent infestation and Lassa fever in refugee camps of Sierra Leone. Am J Trop Med Hyg 77(1):169–175
Bonwitt J, Sáez AM, Lamin J et al (2017) At home with mastomys and rattus: Human-rodent interactions and potential for primary transmission of Lassa virus in domestic spaces. Am J Trop Med Hyg 96(4):935–943. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0675
Borremans B, Leirs H, Gryseels S, Günther S, Makundi R, De Bellocq JG (2011) Presence of Mopeia virus, an African arenavirus, related to biotope and individual rodent host characteristics: Implications for virus transmission. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 11(8):1125–1131. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2010.0010
Borremans B, Vossen R, Becker-Ziaja B et al (2015) Shedding dynamics of Morogoro virus, an African arenavirus closely related to Lassa virus, in its natural reservoir host Mastomys natalensis. Sci Rep 5(1):10445. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10445
Bowen MD, Peters CJ, Nichol ST (1997) Phylogenetic analysis of the arenaviridae: patterns of virus evolution and evidence for cospeciation between Arenaviruses and their rodent hosts. Mol Phylogenet Evol 8(3):301–316. https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.1997.0436
Brown WM, George MJ, Wilson AC (1979) Rapid evolution of animal mitochondrial DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76(4):1967–1971. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.76.4.1967
Carey DE, Kemp GE, White HA et al (1972) Lassa fever Epidemiological aspects of the 1970 epidemic, Jos, Nigeria. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 66(3):402–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203(72)90271-4
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/. Published 2019. Accessed 5 Oct 2019
Colangelo P, Verheyen E, Leirs H et al (2013) A mitochondrial phylogeographic scenario for the most widespread African rodent Mastomys natalensis. Biol J Linn Soc 108(4):901–916. https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12013
Coulibaly-N’Golo D, Allali B, Kouassi SK et al (2011) Novel arenavirus sequences in hylomyscus sp. and Mus (Nannomys) setulosus from côte d’ivoire: Implications for evolution of arenaviruses in Africa. PLoS One 6(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020893
Demartini JC, Green DE, Monath TP (1975) Lassa virus infection in Mastomys natalensis in Sierra Leone. Gross and microscopic findings in infected and uninfected animals. Bull World Health Organ 52(4–5 6):651–663
Demby AH, Inapogui A, Kargbo K et al (2001) Lassa fever in Guinea: II. Distribution and prevalence of Lassa virus infection in small mammals. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 1(4):283–297. https://doi.org/10.1089/15303660160025912
Downs WG, Anderson CR, Spence L, Aitken THG, Greenhall AH (1963) Tacaribe virus, a new agent isolated from Artibeus bats and mosquitoes in Trinidad, West Indies. Am J Trop Med Hyg 12:640–646
Emmerich P, Günther S, Schmitz H (2008) Strain-specific antibody response to Lassa virus in the local population of west Africa. J Clin Virol 42(1):40–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2007.11.019
Fichet-Calvet E, Lecompte E, Koivogui L et al (2007) Fluctuation of abundance and Lassa virus prevalence in Mastomys natalensis in Guinea West Africa. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 7(2):119–128. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2006.0520
Fichet-Calvet E, Lecompte E, Koivogui L, Daffis S, Ter MJ (2008) Reproductive characteristics of Mastomys natalensis and Lassa virus prevalence in Guinea West Africa. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 8(1):41–48. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0118
Fichet-Calvet E, Becker-Ziaja B, Koivogui L, Günther S (2014) Lassa serology in natural populations of rodents and horizontal transmission. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis 14(9):665–674. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2013.1484
Forni D, Pontremoli C, Pozzoli U, Clerici M, Cagliani R, Sironi M (2018) Ancient evolution of mammarenaviruses: adaptation via changes in the L protein and no evidence for host-virus codivergence. Genome Biol Evol 10(3):863–874. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evy050
Fraser DW, Campbell CC, Monath TP, Goff PA, Gregg MB (1974) Lassa fever in the Eastern province of Sierra Leone, 1970–1972. I. Epidemiologic studies. Am J Trop Med Hyg 23(6):1131–1139. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1974.23.1131
Gonzalez J-P, Duplantier JM (1999) The arenavirus and rodent co-evolution process: a global view of a theory. In: Saluzzo J-F, Dodet B, Foundation M-M (eds) Emergence and control of Rodent-Borne Viral diseases : Hantaviral and Arenal Diseases : Congrès, Annecy, 28–31 Octobre 1998. Elsevier, Paris
Gonzalez JP, Mccormick JB, Saluzzo JF et al (1983) An Arenavirus isolated from wild-caught rodents (Praomys Species) in the Central African republic. Intervirology 19(2):105–112. https://doi.org/10.1159/000149344
Gonzalez JP, Georges AJ, Kiley MP, Meunier DMY, Peters CJ, McCormick JB (1986) Evolutionary biology of a Lassa virus complex. Med Microbiol Immunol 175(2–3):157–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02122439
Gryseels S, Rieger T, Oestereich L et al (2015) Gairo virus, a novel arenavirus of the widespread Mastomys natalensis: GENETICALLY divergent, but ecologically similar to Lassa and Morogoro viruses. Virology 476:249–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2014.12.011
Gryseels S, Baird SJE, Borremans B, Makundi R, Leirs H, Goüy de Bellocq J (2017) When viruses don’t go viral: the importance of host Phylogeographic structure in the spatial spread of Arenaviruses. PLoS Pathog 13(1):1–22. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006073
Haun BK, Kamara V, Dweh AS et al (2019) Serological evidence of Ebola virus exposure in dogs from affected communities in Liberia: a preliminary report. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 13(7):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007614
ICTV (2018) Arenaviridae. International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. https://talk.ictvonline.org/ictv-reports/ictv_9th_report/negative-sense-rna-viruses-2011/w/negrna_viruses/203/arenaviridae. Published 2018. Accessed 16 May 2019
Keenlyside RA, McCormick JB, Webb PA, Smith E, Elliott L, Johnson KM (1983) Case-control study of Mastomys natalensis and humans in Lassa virus-infected households in Sierra Leone. Am J Trop Med Hyg 32(4):829–837. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1983.32.829
Kenyon RH, McKee KTJ, Zack PM et al (1992) Aerosol infection of rhesus macaques with Junin virus. Intervirology 33(1):23–31. https://doi.org/10.1159/000150227
Khan SH, Goba A, Chu M et al (2008) New opportunities for field research on the pathogenesis and treatment of Lassa fever. Antiviral Res 78(1):103–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antiviral.2007.11.003
Kouadio L, Nowak K, Akoua-Koffi C et al (2015) Lassa virus in multimammate rats, Côte d’Ivoire, 2013. Emerg Infect Dis 21(8):1481–1483. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2108.150312
Kronmann KC, Nimo-Paintsil S, Guirguis F et al (2013) Two novel arenaviruses detected in pygmy mice Ghana. Emerg Infect Dis 19(11):1832–1835. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1911.121491
Kunz S, Rojek JM, Roberts AJ, McGavern DB, Oldstone MBA, de la Torre JC (2006) Altered central nervous system gene expression caused by congenitally acquired persistent infection with lymphocytic Choriomeningitis virus. J Virol 80(18):9082–9092. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.00795-06
Lalis A, Wirth T (2018) Mice and men: an evolutionary history of Lassa fever. In: Biodiversity and evolution. Elsevier 189–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-1-78548-277-9.50011-5
Lalis A, Leblois R, Lecompte E, Denys C, ter Meulen J, Wirth T (2013) The impact of human conflict on the genetics of Mastomys natalensis and Lassa virus in West Africa. PLoS One 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037068
Lalis A, Evin A, Janier M, Koivogui L, Denys C (2015) Host evolution in Mastomys natalensis (Rodentia: Muridae): an integrative approach using geometric morphometrics and genetics. Integr Zool 10(6):505–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12164
Lecompte É, Granjon L, Peterhans JK, Denys C (2002) Cytochrome b-based phylogeny of the Praomys group (Rodentia, Murinae): a new African radiation? Comptes Rendus—Biol 325(7):827–840. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1631-0691(02)01488-9
Lecompte E, Fichet-Calvet E, Daffis S et al (2006) Mastomys natalensis and Lassa fever, West Africa. Emerg Infect Dis 12(12):1971–1974. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1212.060812
Lecompte E, Aplin K, Denys C, Catzeflis F, Chades M, Chevret P (2008) Phylogeny and biogeography of African Murinae based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, with a new tribal classification of the subfamily. BMC Evol Biol. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-8-199
Leirs H (1994) Population ecology of Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834). Implications for rodent control in Africa
Leski TA, Stockelman MG, Moses LM et al (2015) Sequence variability and geographic distribution of Lassa Virus Sierra Leone. Emerg Infect Dis 21(4):609–618. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2104.141469
Li K, Lin XD, Wang W et al (2015) Isolation and characterization of a novel arenavirus harbored by Rodents and Shrews in Zhejiang province China. Virology 476:37–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2014.11.026
Lukashevich IS, Clegg JC, Sidibe K (1993) Lassa virus activity in Guinea: distribution of human antiviral antibody defined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant antigen. J Med Virol 40(3):210–217
Makundi RH, Massawe AW, Mulungu LS (2008) Reproduction and population dynamics of Mastomys natalensis Smith, 1834 in an agricultural landscape in the Western Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Integr Zool 2(4):233–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-4877.2007.00063.x
Malhotra S, Yen JY, Honko AN et al. (2013) Transcriptional profiling of the circulating immune response to Lassa virus in an aerosol model of exposure. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 7(4). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002171
Manning JT, Forrester N, Paessler S (2015) Lassa virus isolates from Mali and the Ivory Coast represent an emerging fifth lineage. Front Microbiol 6:1037. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01037
Mari Saez A, Cherif Haidara M, Camara A et al (2018) Rodent control to fight Lassa fever: evaluation and lessons learned from a 4-year study in Upper Guinea. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12(11):1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006829
Mariën J, Borremans B, Gryseels S et al (2017) Arenavirus dynamics in experimentally and naturally infected rodents. EcoHealth 14(3):463–473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-017-1256-7
Mariën J, Kourouma F, Magassouba NF, Leirs H, Fichet-Calvet E (2018) Movement patterns of small rodents in Lassa fever-endemic villages in Guinea. EcoHealth 15(2):348–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-018-1331-8
Mariën J, Lo Iacono G, Rieger T, Magassouba N, Günther S, Fichet-Calvet E (2020) Households as hotspots of Lassa fever? Assessing the spatial distribution of Lassa virus-infected rodents in rural villages of Guinea. Emerg Microbes Infect 9(1):1055–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2020.1766381
Mccormick JB, Webb PA, Krebs JW et al (1987) A Prospective study of the epidemiology and ecology of Lassa Fever. J Infect Dis 155(3):437–444
Mills JN, Ellis BA, McKee KTJ et al (1992) A longitudinal study of Junin virus activity in the rodent reservoir of Argentine hemorrhagic fever. Am J Trop Med Hyg 47(6):749–763. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1992.47.749
Monath TP (1975) Lassa fever: review of epidemiology and epizootiology. Bull World Health Organ 52(4–5 6):577–592
Monath TP, Newhouse VF, Kemp GE, Setzer HW, Cacciapuoti A (1974) Lassa virus isolation from Mastomys natalensis rodents during an epidemic in Sierra Leone. Science (80–) 185(4147):263–265. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4147.263
Mulungu LS, Ngowo V, Mdangi M et al (2013) Population dynamics and breeding patterns of multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis (Smith 1834), in irrigated rice fields in Eastern Tanzania. Pest Manag Sci 69(3):371–377. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.3346
Nimo-Paintsil SC, Fichet-Calvet E, Borremans B et al (2019) Rodent-borne infections in rural Ghanaian farming communities. PLoS ONE 14(4):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215224
Ogunro B, Olugasa B, Kayode A, Kolawole S, Odigie EA, Happi C (2019) Detection of antibody and antigen specific For Lassa virus nucleoprotein in monkeys from Southern Nigeria: it is time to cast A Wider Zoo–surveillance Net. In: Nigerian centre for disease control. Abjua, Nigeria; 2019. https://lic.ncdc.gov.ng/downloads/o_a/O.A-4-Detection-Of-Antibody-And-Antigen-Specific-For-Lassa-Virus-Nucleoprotein-In-Monkeys-From-Southern-Nigeria-It-Is-Time-To-Cast-A-Wider-Zoo–surveillance-Net.pdf
Okoror LE, Esumeh FI, Agbonlahor DE, Umolu PI (2005) Lassa virus: seroepidemiological survey of rodents caught in Ekpoma and environs. Trop Doct 35(1):16–17. https://doi.org/10.1258/0049475053001912
Olayemi A, Obadare A, Oyeyiola A et al (2016a) Arenavirus diversity and phylogeography of Mastomys natalensis Rodents. Nigeria 22(4):13–16
Olayemi A, Cadar D, Magassouba N et al (2016b) New hosts of the Lassa virus. Sci Rep. 6(1):25280. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25280
Olayemi A, Oyeyiola A, Obadare A et al (2018) Widespread Arenavirus occurrence and seroprevalence in small mammals Nigeria. Parasites Vectors 11(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2991-5
Olayiwola J, Bakarey A (2017) Epidemiological trends of Lassa fever outbreaks and insights for future control in Nigeria. Int J Trop Dis Heal 24:1–14. https://doi.org/10.9734/IJTDH/2017/32823
Oldstone MBA (2002) Biology and pathogenesis of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 263:83
Parson W, Pegoraro K, Niederstätter H, Föger M, Steinlechner M (2000) Species identification by means of the cytochrome B gene. Int J Legal Med 114(1–2):23–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004140000134
Robbins CB, Krebs JW, Johnson KM (1983) Mastomys (rodentia: muridae) species distinguished by hemoglobin pattern differences. Am J Trop Med Hyg 32(3):624. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1983.32.624
Roberts L (2018) Nigeria hit by unprecedented Lassa fever outbreak. Science 359(6381):1201–1202. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.359.6381.1201
Safronetz D, Sogoba N, Lopez JE et al (2013) Geographic distribution and genetic characterization of Lassa virus in Sub-Saharan Mali. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 7(12):4–12. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002582
Saluzzo JF, Adam F, McCormick JB, Digoutte JP (1988) Lassa fever virus in senegal. J Infect Dis 157(3):605–605. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/157.3.605
Sayler KA, Barbet AF, Chamberlain C et al (2014) Isolation of Tacaribe Virus, a Caribbean Arenavirus, from host-seeking Amblyomma americanum ticks in Florida (Research Article). PLoS One 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115769
Schenk JJ, Rowe KC, Steppan SJ (2013) Ecological opportunity and incumbency in the diversification of repeated continental colonizations by muroid rodents. Syst Biol 62(6):837–864. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syt050
Shi M, Lin XD, Chen X et al (2018) The evolutionary history of vertebrate RNA viruses. Nature 556(7700):197–202. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0012-7
Sogoba N, Feldmann H, Safronetz D (2012) Lassa fever in West Africa: evidence for an expanded region of Endemicity. Zoonoses Public Health 59(SUPPL.2):43–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01469.x
Stephenson EH, Larson EW, Dominik JW (1984) Effect of environmental factors on aerosol-induced Lassa virus infection. J Med Virol 14(4):295–303
Sun T, Vasek MJ, Klein RS (2014) Congenitally acquired persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis viral infection reduces neuronal progenitor pools in the adult hippocampus and subventricular zone. PLoS ONE 9(5):1–8. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096442
Swanepoel R, Leman PA, Shepherd AJ et al (1985) Identification of Ippy as a Lassa-fever-related virus. Lancet 325(8429):639. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(85)92175-0
Tagliapietra V, Rosà R, Hauffe HC et al (2009) Spatial and temporal dynamics of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in wild rodents, northern Italy. Emerg Infect Dis 15(7):1019–1025. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1507.01524
Ter Meulen J, Lukashevich I, Sidibe K et al (1996) Hunting of peridomestic rodents and consumption of their meat as possible risk factors for rodent-to-human transmission of Lassa virus in the Republic of Guinea. Am J Trop Med Hyg 55(6):661–666
Theiler RN, Rasmussen SA, Treadwell TA et al (2009) Emerging and zoonotic infections in women. Infect Dis 377(2):364–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2008.05.007.Emerging
Vanden Broecke B, Borremans B, Mariën J et al (2018) Does exploratory behavior or activity in a wild mouse explain susceptibility to virus infection? Curr Zool 64(5):585–592. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox053
Walker DH, Wulff H, Lange JV, Murphy FA (1975) Comparative pathology of Lassa virus infection in monkeys, guinea pigs, and Mastomys natalensis. Bull World Health Organ 52(4–5 6):523–534
Walker DH, McCormick JB, Johnson KM et al (1982) Pathologic and virologic study of fatal Lassa fever in man. Am J Pathol 107(3):349–356
Wilson DE, Reeder DM (1993) Mammal species of the world : a taxonomic and geographic reference, 2nd edn. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington
Wulff H, Fabiyi A, Monath TP (1975) Recent isolations of Lassa virus from Nigerian rodents. Bull World Health Organ 52(4–5 6):609–613
Yadouleton A, Agolinou A, Kourouma F et al (2019) Lassa Virus in Pygmy Mice, Benin, West Africa, 2016–2017. Emerg Infect Dis 25(10):2016–2017. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2510.180523
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Smither, A.R., Bell-Kareem, A.R. (2020). Ecology of Lassa Virus. In: Garry, R. (eds) Lassa Fever: Epidemiology, Immunology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 440. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2020_231
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2020_231
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-35806-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-35807-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)