Lujo viral hemorrhagic fever: considering diagnostic capacity and preparedness in the wake of recent Ebola and Zika virus outbreaks.
Lujo virus is a novel Old World arenavirus identified in Southern Africa in 2008 as the cause of a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) characterized by nosocomial transmission with a high case fatality rate of 80% (4/5 cases). Whereas this outbreak was limited, the unprecedented Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa, and recent Zika virus disease epidemic in the Americas, has brought into acute focus the need for preparedness to respond to rare but potentially highly pathogenic outbreaks of zoonotic or arthropod-borne viral infections. A key determinant for effective control of a VHF outbreak is the time between primary infection and diagnosis of the index case. Here, we review the Lujo VHF outbreak of 2008 and discuss how preparatory measures with respect to developing diagnostic capacity might be effectively embedded into existing national disease control networks, such as those for human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Edgar
E
Simulundu
Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Aaron S
AS
Mweene
Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Katendi
K
Changula
University Teaching Hospital & National Virology Reference Laboratory, Lusaka, Zambia.
Mwaka
M
Monze
Ministry of Health, Republic of Zambia.
Elizabeth
E
Chizema
Ministry of Health, Republic of Zambia.
Peter
P
Mwaba
Department of Disease Control, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.|Division of Global Epidemiology, Hokkaido University Research Center for Zoonosis Control, Sapporo, Japan.|Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Ayato
A
Takada
Lazzaro Spallanzani National Institute for Infectious Diseases, IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Guiseppe
G
Ippolito
World Health Organization, WHO Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
Francis
F
Kasolo
Department of Infection, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, UK.|University of Zambia - University College London Research & Training Programme (www.unza-uclms.org), University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
Alimuddin
A
Zumla
Department of Infection, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, UK.|University of Zambia - University College London Research & Training Programme (www.unza-uclms.org), University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.|HerpeZ (www.herpez.org), University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.
Matthew
M
Bates
D000353:Africa, Southern / Q000453:epidemiology; D001117:Arenaviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D002959:Civil Defense; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control; D006482:Hemorrhagic Fevers, Viral / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D063927:Lujo virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
Arenaviridae; Ebola virus disease; Lujo virus; Mammarenavirus; Zika virus; diagnostic capacity; lessons; preparedness; viral hemorrhagic fever