Journal article
Mapping the zoonotic niche of Lassa fever in Africa.
- Abstract:
- Lassa fever is a viral haemorrhagic illness responsible for disease outbreaks across West Africa. It is a zoonosis, with the primary reservoir species identified as the Natal multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis. The host is distributed across sub-Saharan Africa while the virus' range appears to be restricted to West Africa. The majority of infections result from interactions between the animal reservoir and human populations, although secondary transmission between humans can occur, particularly in hospital settings.Using a species distribution model, the locations of confirmed human and animal infections with Lassa virus (LASV) were used to generate a probabilistic surface of zoonotic transmission potential across sub-Saharan Africa.Our results predict that 37.7 million people in 14 countries, across much of West Africa, live in areas where conditions are suitable for zoonotic transmission of LASV. Four of these countries, where at-risk populations are predicted, have yet to report any cases of Lassa fever.These maps act as a spatial guide for future surveillance activities to better characterise the geographical distribution of the disease and understand the anthropological, virological and zoological interactions necessary for viral transmission. Combining this zoonotic niche map with detailed patient travel histories can aid differential diagnoses of febrile illnesses, enabling a more rapid response in providing care and reducing the risk of onward transmission.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 892.2KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1093/trstmh/trv047
Authors
+ National Institutes of Health
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- Funding agency for:
- Hay, S
- Grant:
- APIDD program of the Science and Technology Directorate
+ Wellcome Trust
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- Funding agency for:
- Hay, S
- Grant:
- APIDD program of the Science and Technology Directorate
+ Department of Zoology, University of Oxford
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- Funding agency for:
- Pigott, D
- Grant:
- Sir Richard Southwood Graduate Scholarship
+ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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- Funding agency for:
- Weiss, D
- Moyes, C
- Mylne, A
- Golding, N
- Hay, S
- Grant:
- OPP1068048
- OPP1093011
- OPP1093011
- OPP1093011
- APIDD program of the Science and Technology Directorate
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- Journal:
- Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene More from this journal
- Volume:
- 109
- Issue:
- 8
- Pages:
- 483-492
- Publication date:
- 2015-01-01
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1878-3503
- ISSN:
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0035-9203
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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pubs:528358
- UUID:
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uuid:f5ac88de-3358-45ad-9ee8-60ce24fb48ca
- Local pid:
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pubs:528358
- Source identifiers:
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528358
- Deposit date:
-
2016-01-19
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Mylne et al
- Copyright date:
- 2015
- Notes:
-
Copyright © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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