Studies on Lassa fever which is endemic in South-east area of Nigeria

Research Project

Project/Area Number	25305016
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Partial Multi-year Fund
Section	海外学術
Research Field	Virology
Research Institution	Nagasaki University
Principal Investigator	YASUDA Jiro 長崎大学, 熱帯医学研究所, 教授 (10282518)
Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha)	KUROSAKI Yohei 長崎大学, 熱帯医学研究所, 助教 (40415443) URATA Shuzo 長崎大学, 熱帯医学研究所, 助教 (20614449)
Research Collaborator	Uche Sonny Unigwe
Project Period (FY)	2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
Budget Amount *help	¥17,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,080,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥8,710,000 (Direct Cost: ¥6,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,010,000)
Keywords	ラッサ熱 / ラッサウイルス / ナイジェリア / 次世代シーケンサー / 国際研究者交流 / ウイルス / 感染症
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Lassa fever caused by Lassa virus with high virulence is serious problem in West Africa, especially in Nigeria. In this study, we collected 121 serum samples from suspected patients in South-east area of Nigeria during 2012-2016 and analyzed. RT-PCR assay showed that 32 samples were positive for Lassa virus. Genetic analyses for virus genes revealed that Lassa virus has been genetically conserved without any positive selection for long time in this area. In addition, analysis with a next generation sequencer suggested that E. coli O157:H7 may be involved in the increased lethality of Lassa virus infection in this area.