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Article: Mastomys natalensis and Lassa fever, West Africa.(DISPATCHES)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- December 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PCR screening of 1,482 murid rodents from 13 genera caught in 18 different localities of Guinea, West Africa, showed Lassa virus infection only in molecularly typed Mastomys natalensis. Distribution of this rodent and relative abundance compared with M. erythroleucus correlates geographically with Lassa virus seroprevalence in humans.
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A renaviruses are emerging in the Americas and Africa and can cause hemorrhagic fevers with case fatalities of up to 15%. These viruses are mainly transmitted through contact with the excreta of their natural hosts, rodents of the family Muridae. The Old World arenavirus Lassa virus causes up to 300,000 cases of ...