Current research for a vaccine against Lassa hemorrhagic fever virus

Figures & data

Figure 1 Lassa virus geographical distribution and virus structure.

Notes: Lassa virus has caused numerous outbreaks and is endemic to Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia (red). There is also strong evidence of Lassa virus infections (beige) throughout much of West Africa (WHO Lassa Report, 2018⁶⁶). The Lassa virus structure and genome are also depicted.
Abbreviations: RNA, ribonucleic acid; UTR, Untranslated Region; WHO, World Health Organization.

Figure 2 Disease course of Lassa virus infection and efficacy of various preventative strategies.

Notes: The timeline of various aspects of disease course during Lassa virus infection in the most commonly used animal models and in humans (A), and the timeline of administration of various preventative strategies against Lassa virus infection (B). Each of the vaccine strategies listed has shown protective efficacy in guinea pigs and/or NHPs when administered at the day listed relative to infection. *Following symptom onset.
Abbreviations: NHPs, non-human primates; Rib, ribavirin; Fav, favipiravir; VSV-LASV, vesicular stomatitis virus-Lassa virus.

Table 1 Animal testing of replication-competent LASV vaccine candidates

Vaccine platform	Antigens	Guinea pig efficacy	NHP efficacy
Vaccinia virus	NP	100%;^Citation46 94%^Citation47	0% cynos;^Citation31 43% rhesus^Citation31
	GP1 or GP2		0% cynos^Citation31
	GPC	79%;^Citation46 100%^Citation63	67% cynos;^Citation31 100% rhesus^Citation31,Citation64
ML29	GPC and NP	100%^Citation51,Citation65	100% marmosets^Citation52
YFV17D	GPC	80%^Citation53	0% marmosets^Citation32
	GP1 and GP2	83%^Citation54
VSV	NP	67%^Citation61
	GPC	100%^Citation61	100% cynos^Citation28,Citation61,Citation62

Abbreviations: LASV, Lassa virus; NHPs, non-human primates; NP, nucleoprotein; GPC, glycoprotein precursor; YFV17D, yellow fever 17D; VSV, vesicular stomatitis virus.

World Health Organization2018World Health Organization Lassa Fever Nigeria Report Available from: http://www.who.int/csr/don/23-march-2018-lassa-fever-nigeria/en/Accessed April 07, 2018

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