Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025297 (Poster 046) | Published: 31 Jul 2025
Daniel Geofrey ThankGod1,2, Nantok Dami3, David Shwe3, Pantong Davwar3, Barnabas Saidu3, Dung Davou Pam4, Filibus Danjuma Dami,4,5 Hyacinth Shehu Dapiya2, Victoria Kaneng Davou2, Cheng Huang6, Scott Weaver6, Slobodan Paessler6, Pam Dachung Luka1, Nathan Yakubu Shehu3,6,&
1Biotechnology Center, National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria, 2Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Jos, Nigeria, 3West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, Nigeria, 4Department of Zoology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Jos, Nigeriae, 5AP Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Laminga, Plateau State, Nigeria, 6University of Texas Medical Branch, USA
&Corresponding author: Nathan Yakubu Shehu, West African Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, Nigeria, University of Texas Medical Branch, USA. Email: nyshehu@yahoo.com
Received: 30 Apr 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 31 Jul 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Lassa fever, Febrile patients, RT-PCR, Sequencing, Plateau state
©Daniel Geofrey ThankGod et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Daniel Geofrey ThankGod et al., Molecular characterisation of Lassa Virus (Glycoprotein Complex Gene) in febrile patients in Plateau State, Nigeria. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00190. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO5-00190
The prevalence of Lassa fever has continued to rise over the years, with over 33 years of national outbreaks and more than 18 years of Lassa fever outbreaks in Plateau State since the detection of the index case in Nigeria in 1969. Plateau state is one of the states with significant increased number of Lassa fever outbreaks in the country. This study aimed at characterization of the molecular phenotypes of Lassa virus in febrile patients.
A cross-sectional study was carried out. Using simple random sampling technique, 240 blood samples were collected from febrile patients (≥38◦C) in the selected Hospitals within the three different zones in Plateau State. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtained information on potential risk factors associated with Lassa virus infection. One-step-conventional RT-PCR was used to screen the samples in a Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory. Positive PCR products were sequenced using a Sanger sequencing platform. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20.0 while the sequence analysis was done using FinchTV software version 1.4.0, EMBOSS:merger and MEGA X.
Of the 240 febrile patients, 9 (3.75%) had Lassa virus; 8 (10.0%) were from the Plateau North zone, 1(1.2%) from the Plateau South, and 0(0%) from the Plateau Central. All the eight (8) sequences that passed quality check in this study clustered phylogenetically with Lassa virus strains under lineage III previously known to circulate around the Northern Nigeria.
This study highlights the presence of Lassa fever among febrile patients who might not typically be screened for the disease, as they do not meet the standard case definition for suspected Lassa fever. This shows that, routine diagnosis for Lassa fever is urgently needed in areas with high Lassa fever transmission rates. Surveillance for Lassa fever among febrile Patients in Plateau State should be a priority.
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