Finally, mystery virus identified

"The causative agent of the disease... may be a rodent-born arenavirus related to the Lassa fever virus of West Africa," NICD’s Dr Lucille Blumberg told reporters at the Charlotte Maxexe Johannesburg Academic Hospital. She said tests done by the NICD and the Centres for Disease Control in Atlanta, US, indicated that the disease seemed to be a kind of an arenavirus. The World Health Organisation has also been providing technical assistance in identifying the virus.

Arenaviruses cause chronic infections in multimammate mice — a kind of wild mouse — who excrete the virus in their urine which can then contaminate human food or house dust.

Viruses similar to the Lassa fever virus have been found in rodents in Africa, but other than in West Africa have not been found to cause diseases in humans.

She said there was no indication that arenaviruses which could cause disease in humans were present in South African rodents.

Blumberg said further tests still needed to be done.

"It needs to be determined whether it is a previously unrecognised member of the arenaviruses and what its distribution is," she said.

The NICD’s Robert Swanepoel said there were viruses of this family in

Southern Africa but that this could be an undiscovered kind.

"Not every country has been thoroughly searched," he said.

He said the kind of rodents who carried the virus were not generally found in urban areas.

"They are out there but attracted (to human dwellings) if there is inadequate waste disposal."

Crops and animal feed also sometimes attracted them, he said.

He said the kinds of viruses could range from causing mild fevers to being lethal.

There were only three cases to go on for the kind of arenavirus now discovered but "it looks like it is very lethal," he said.

Head of the NICD’s Special Pathogens Unit Dr Janusz T Paweska said the arenavirus diagnosis came about after a number of tests.

Biopsies conducted on the last two victims where infected tissues, skin, liver and muscles were tested were critically important in being able to make a diagnosis.

A blood sample obtained in Zambia from the first victim also confirmed test results.

He said doctors were now waiting for the virus to grow in cell culture to conduct further tests to identify what strain it was.

Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwa said the first victim of the virus was 36-year-old Cecilia van Deventer, who was airlifted from Zambia to the Morningside Medi Clinic in Sandton on September 12 in a critical condition.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: