Researchers created the largest genomic set for Lassa virus, according to Vaccine News.
Here are six points:
1. The genomic catalog consists of approximately 200 viral genomes.
2. The genomes were taken from samples of patients in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
3. Researchers took field samples from a rodent, which is a main animal host of LASV.
4. The data showed that LASC strains typically gather into four groups based on their geographic location. Of these groups, three groups are within Nigeria and a fourth group is in Sierra Leona, Liberia and Guinea.
5. The four LASC strained have mutated from one original common ancestral virus more than 1,000 year ago. The virus then spread throughout West Africa over hundreds of years.
6. Researchers claim the data set will be crucial for understanding the LASV virus and creating medical countermeasures such as diagnostics, therapies and vaccines.
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