Evaluation of rodent control to fight Lassa fever based on field data and mathematical modelling.

ABSTRACT: The Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) is the reservoir host of Lassa virus, an arenavirus that causes Lassa haemorrhagic fever in humans in West Africa. Because no vaccine exists and therapeutic options are limited, preventing infection through rodent control and human behavioural measures is currently considered to be the only option. In order to assess the efficacy of rodent control, we performed a 4-year field experiment in rural Upper Guinea and developed a mathematical model to simulate different control strategies (annual density control, continuous density control, and rodent vaccination). For the field study, rodenticide baits were placed each year in three rural villages, while three other villages were used as controls. Rodents were trapped before and after every tre

SUBMITTER: Marien J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7011821 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature