# 3277
Last October doctors in Zambia and South Africa ran across a mysterious, previously unclassified virus that caused hemorrhagic symptoms in its victims similar to Ebola.
It appeared to be highly contagious, and was fatal in 4 of the 5 identified victims. Like most other infectious disease bloggers, I covered the story a bit, although the amount of information available then was pretty thin.
WHO Update On South African `Mystery Disease'
South African `Mystery Virus' Identified
On October 13th, the virus was tentatively identified as a new arenavirus, but since that time more exacting studies have been done.
Yesterday, the results of that research were published in PloS Pathogens.
Scientists identify new lethal virus in Africa
ATLANTA (AP) — Scientists have identified a lethal new virus in Africa that causes bleeding like the dreaded Ebola virus. The so-called "Lujo" virus infected five people in Zambia and South Africa last fall. Four of them died, but a fifth survived, perhaps helped by a medicine recommended by the scientists.
It's not clear how the first person became infected, but the bug comes from a family of viruses found in rodents, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University epidemiologist involved in the discovery.
"This one is really, really aggressive" he said of the virus.
A paper on the virus by Lipkin and his collaborators was published online Thursday on in PLoS Pathogens.
<snip>
Investigators believe the virus spread from person to person through contact with infected body fluids.
"It's not a kind of virus like the flu that can spread widely," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which helped fund the research.
Here is the abstract from the PLoS Pathogens study, slightly reformatted for readability.
Genetic Detection and Characterization of Lujo Virus, a New Hemorrhagic Fever–Associated Arenavirus from Southern Africa
Briese T, Paweska JT, McMullan LK, Hutchison SK, Street C, et al. (2009) Genetic Detection and Characterization of Lujo Virus, a New Hemorrhagic Fever–Associated Arenavirus from Southern Africa. PLoS Pathog 4(5): e1000455. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1000455
Abstract
Lujo virus (LUJV), a new member of the family Arenaviridae and the first hemorrhagic fever–associated arenavirus from the Old World discovered in three decades, was isolated in South Africa during an outbreak of human disease characterized by nosocomial transmission and an unprecedented high case fatality rate of 80% (4/5 cases).
Unbiased pyrosequencing of RNA extracts from serum and tissues of outbreak victims enabled identification and detailed phylogenetic characterization within 72 hours of sample receipt. Full genome analyses of LUJV showed it to be unique and branching off the ancestral node of the Old World arenaviruses.
The virus G1 glycoprotein sequence was highly diverse and almost equidistant from that of other Old World and New World arenaviruses, consistent with a potential distinctive receptor tropism. LUJV is a novel, genetically distinct, highly pathogenic arenavirus.
