title: Spatial and temporal evolution of Lassa virus in the natural host population in Upper Guinea.
abstract: This study aimed at reconstructing the spatial and temporal evolution of Lassa virus (LASV) in the natural host population. To this end, we generated 132 partial nucleoprotein sequences of LASV from M. natalensis trapped in 12 villages around Faranah, Upper Guinea, over a period of 12 years. This study reveals two main features of LASV evolution in M. natalensis. First, the virus evolves in the reservoir with a molecular clock rate of 9 (7-11) × 10(-4) position(-1) year(-1) implying that contemporary LASV lineages circulate in the Faranah area since less than 100 years. Second, viruses circulating in a specific village are diverse and polyphyletic. We observed, however, there are monophyletic clusters at village and sub-village level at specific points in time. In conclusion, our data indicate that the temporal and spatial pattern of LASV evolution in the natural reservoir is characterized by a combination of stationary circulation within a village and virus movement between villages. The latter feature is relevant for rodent control strategies, as it implies that recurrence of the virus from neighbouring villages may occur in villages where the virus has previously been eradicated.
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fichet-Calvet
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ölschläger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strecker
authors.affiliation: Projet des Fièvres Hémorragiques en Guinée, Hopital Donka, Conakry, Guinea.
authors.forename: Lamine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Koivogui
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Becker-Ziaja
authors.affiliation: Projet des Fièvres Hémorragiques en Guinée, Hopital Donka, Conakry, Guinea.
authors.forename: Amara Bongo
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Camara
authors.affiliation: Projet des Fièvres Hémorragiques en Guinée, Hopital Donka, Conakry, Guinea.
authors.forename: Barré
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Soropogui
authors.affiliation: Projet des Fièvres Hémorragiques en Guinée, Hopital Donka, Conakry, Guinea.
authors.forename: N'Faly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Magassouba
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Günther
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D016701:Guinea; D007835:Lassa Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D007836:Lassa virus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D051189:Murinae; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D056189:Viral Tropism
chemical_list: D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins