Construction and Evaluation of Recombinant Virus Vaccines for Lassa Fever

The first clinical and pathological descriptions of Lassa fever were reported in 1970 as a result of a program to investigate the prevalence of certain virus infections among missionaries in West Africa (Frame et al., 1970). The index patient was a nurse working in a mission hospital in Lassa, Nigeria. She developed a persistent fever, was transferred to Bingham Memorial Hospital in Jos, Nigeria, and died on the 14th day of illness. A second nurse, who cared for the index patient on the day of admission to the hospital in Jos, developed a febrile illness 9 days later. The clinical course of this illness paralleled that of the index case in that the patient maintained a high fever, developed a severe sore throat, facial edema, and macular rash, and died on the 11th day of illness. A third nurse who had contact with the first two patients became ill 1 week after the second patient died. As her condition deteriorated similarly to the first two patients, she was transferred to Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Upon the administration of supportive therapy, including fluid and electrolyte replacement and regimens of tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and chloroquine, this patient gradually recovered over the next several weeks. The clinical and epidemiological observations associated with these three cases suggested a new viral hemorrhagic fever not previously reported in Africa.