Detailseite
Projekt
Ökologie des Lassa Virus und verwandter Arenaviren im natürlichen Wirt Mastomys natalensis
Antragsteller
Professor Dr. Stephan Günther; Professor Dr. Herwig Leirs
Fachliche Zuordnung
Virologie
Ökologie und Biodiversität der Tiere und Ökosysteme, Organismische Interaktionen
Ökologie und Biodiversität der Tiere und Ökosysteme, Organismische Interaktionen
Förderung
Förderung von 2013 bis 2018
Projektkennung
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 226377141
Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease caused by Lassa virus, an African arenavirus. The disease is endemic in West Africa. Hemorrhagic courses of Lassa fever are associated with high mortality. It is estimated that 100,000 infections occur each year as a result of transmission of Lassa virus from its rodent reservoir (Mastomys natalensis) to humans. Control measures aiming at reducing the virus prevalence in the rodent population could reduce the risk of rodent-to-human transmission. However, the course of infection, the dynamics of virus–rodent interaction, and modes of virus transmission among the rodent population are poorly understood. This information is crucial to design efficient and cost-effective control measures. Therefore, a major objective of the research project is to enhance knowledge on rodent ecology to develop, in future, rodent-based intervention strategies that are applicable in the endemic area. Specific objectives include: (1) description of the basic infection parameters, including pathology and tropism, of Lassa virus as well as the related African arenaviruses Mopeia and Morogoro in their natural host M. natalensis, (2) identification of virus determinants important for persistence in the natural host using recombinant virus technologies, (3) determination of modes and timing of transmission of the African arenaviruses in M. natalensis in the laboratory and in the field (Tanzania), using Morogoro virus as a feasible model, and (4) translation of this information into a mathematical model for Lassa virus transmission. The resulting model shall be used to predict an abundance threshold below which the virus cannot persist in the natural host population.
DFG-Verfahren
Schwerpunktprogramme
Internationaler Bezug
Belgien
