An Outbred Guinea Pig Disease Model for Lassa Fever Using a Host-Adapted Clade III Nigerian Lassa Virus.

ABSTRACT: Nigeria experiences annual outbreaks of Lassa fever (LF) with high case numbers. At least three clades of Lassa virus (LASV) have been documented in Nigeria, though recent outbreaks are most often associated with clade II or clade III viruses. Using a recently isolated clade III LASV from a case of LF in Nigeria in 2018, we developed and characterized a guinea pig adapted virus capable of causing lethal disease in commercially available Hartley guinea pigs. Uniform lethality was observed after four passages of the virus and was associated with only two dominant genomic changes. The adapted virus was highly virulent with a median lethal dose of 10 median tissue culture infectious doses. Disease was characterized by several hallmarks of LF in similar models including high fever, thrombocytop

SUBMITTER: Deschambault Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10052409 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature