A historical look at the first reported cases of Lassa fever: IgG antibodies 40 years after acute infection

Abstract

Lassa fever is an acute and sometimes severe viral hemorrhagic illness endemic in West Africa. One important question regarding Lassa fever is the duration of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody after infection. We were able to locate three persons who worked in Nigeria dating back to the 1940s, two of whom were integrally involved in the early outbreaks and investigations of Lassa fever in the late 1960s, including the person from whom Lassa virus was first isolated. Two persons had high titers of Lassa virus-specific IgG antibody over 40 years after infection, indicating the potential for long-term duration of these antibodies. One person was likely infected in 1952, 17 years before the first recognized outbreak. We briefly recount the fascinating stories of these three pioneers and their important contribution to our understanding of Lassa fever.

Figure 1.

Optical density results of Lassa virus-specific IgG antibody testing by ELISA on heat-inactivated serum tested at a dilution of 1:300. Assays were run in triplicate. Error bars represent ± 1 SD. HE = Harry Elyea; HW = Hal White; NCSL = negative controls from Sierra Leone; NCUS = negative controls from the United States; PC = positive controls from Sierra Leone; PP = Lily Pinneo.