Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Turning Discovery into Health
  • Virtual Tour
  • En Español

Site Menu

  • Home
  • Health Information
    • Health Care Providers & Facilities
    • Health Info Lines
    • HealthCare.gov
    • Science Education Resources
    • NIH Clinical Research Trials and You
    • Talking to Your Doctor

    More »

    Quick Links

    • MedlinePlus Health Info
    • NIH News in Health
    • Wellness Toolkits
  • Grants & Funding
    • Grants Home Page
    • Find Funding
    • Due Dates
    • How to Apply
    • About Grants
    • Policy & Compliance
    • Grants News/Blog
    • Contracts
    • Loan Repayment

    More »

    Quick Links

    • RePORT
    • eRA Commons
    • NIH Common Fund
  • News & Events
    • News Releases
    • Digital Media Kits
    • Media Resources
    • Media Contacts
    • Images and B-roll
    • Events
    • Social Media

    More »

    Quick Links

    • NIH News in Health
    • NIH Research Matters
    • NIH Record
  • Research & Training
    • Medical Research Initiatives
    • Science Highlights
    • Science Education
    • Research in NIH Labs & Clinics
    • Training Opportunities
    • Library Resources
    • Research Resources
    • Clinical Research Resources
    • Safety, Regulation and Guidance

    More »

    Quick Links

    • PubMed
    • Stem Cell Information
    • OppNet
    • NIDB
    • NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
  • Institutes at NIH
    • List of Institutes and Centers
    • NIH Office of the Director
    • Directors of NIH Institutes and Centers
    • NIH Institute and Center Contact Information

    More »

    Quick Links

    • NCI
    • NEI
    • NHLBI
    • NHGRI
    • NIA
    • NIAAA
    • NIAID
    • NIAMS
    • NIBIB
    • NICHD
    • NIDCD
    • NIDCR
    • NIDDK
    • NIDA
    • NIEHS
    • NIGMS
    • NIMH
    • NIMHD
    • NINDS
    • NINR
    • NLM
    • CC
    • CIT
    • CSR
    • FIC
    • NCATS
    • NCCIH
  • About NIH
    • Who We Are
    • What We Do
    • Jobs at NIH
    • Visitor Information
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact Us

    More »

    Quick Links

    • The NIH Director
    • Take the Virtual Tour
    • NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®
    • Impact of NIH Research
    • Science, Health, and Public Trust

You are here

Home » News & Events » News Releases

News Releases

Media Advisory

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Genomic analysis offers insight into 2018 Nigeria Lassa fever outbreak

Findings helped inform Nigeria’s public health response.

Microscopic image of Lassa virus Scanning electron micrograph of Lassa virus budding off a Vero cell. NIAID

What

A surge in Lassa fever cases in Nigeria in 2018 does not appear to be linked to a single virus strain or increased human-to-human transmission, according to a genomic analysis published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Multiple institutions collaborated on the report, including the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases at Redeemer’s University in Ede, Nigeria; the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts; the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California; and Tulane University in New Orleans, among others. The research was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), and the NIH Common Fund’s Human Heredity and Health in Africa Program, all components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported an unusually large increase in Lassa fever cases in 2018, with 523 laboratory-confirmed cases and 135 deaths from January 1 through October 7. Lassa fever is endemic to West Africa, where Mastomys natalensis rodents, a primary animal reservoir of Lassa virus, are common. The rodent is often found in or around human habitats, and people become infected with Lassa virus through direct contact with rodent urine and stool. People with Lassa fever also can transmit the virus to other people through close contact, although experts believe this is rare. About 15 to 20 percent of people hospitalized with Lassa fever die from the disease, but only 1 percent of all Lassa virus infections result in death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Public health officials were concerned that the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria in 2018 might be driven by a previously unknown factor, such as a new or more virulent Lassa virus strain, according to the authors. This prompted the research team to analyze Lassa virus genomes from patient samples to determine if genomic data signatures could explain the surge in cases.

The authors analyzed Lassa virus genomes of 129 patients from the 2017-2018 outbreak and from 91 patients from the 2015-2017 seasons. They discovered that Lassa genomes from 2018 were drawn from a diverse range of viruses previously observed in Nigeria rather than from a single dominant strain. This indicates that a single virus strain was not driving the surge in cases in 2018. Additionally, dating of the most recent ancestors of samples from 2018 showed limited support for human-to-human transmission. Rather, the dataset had features consistent with many, independent zoonotic transmissions (humans becoming infected through contact with rodent feces or urine).

The research team reported their findings in real time to the NCDC and local health authorities to support the public health response to the outbreak. The research serves as a model for investigating infectious disease emergencies by combining genomic information with traditional epidemiological data to inform response strategies, the authors note.

Article

KJ Siddle et al. Genomic Analysis of Lassa Virus during an Increase in Cases in Nigeria in 2018. The New England Journal of Medicine DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1804498 (2018).

Who

Eun Mi Lee, M.S., M.P.H., a health specialist in the Office of Genomics and Advanced Technologies (OGAT), part of NIAID’s Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, is available for comment. Liliana Losada Brown, Ph.D., a program officer in OGAT, is also available for comment.

Contact

To schedule interviews, please contact Jennifer Routh, (301) 402-1663, NIAIDNews@niaid.nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research — at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide — to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at www.niaid.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

###

Institute/Center

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Contact

Jennifer Routh
301-402-1663

Connect with Us

  • Subscribe to news releases
  • RSS Feed

Connect with Us

  • Contact Us
  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • More Social Media from NIH

Footer

  • NIH Home
  • Virtual Tour
  • En Español
  • Visitor Information
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Accessibility
  • NIH Website Archives
  • Nondiscrimination Notice
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • No Fear Act
  • HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
  • Office of Inspector General
  • USA.gov

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Back to Top