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Case Reports
. 2023 Dec 12;20(1):294.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-023-02258-x.

Armstrong strain lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection after accidental laboratory exposure

Laurence Caron  1   2 , Jean-Sébastien Delisle  2   3 , James E Strong  4   5   6 , Yvon Deschambault  4 , Félix Lombard-Vadnais  2 , Annie-Claude Labbé  7   8 , Sylvie Lesage  9   10
Affiliations
Case Reports

Armstrong strain lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection after accidental laboratory exposure

Laurence Caron et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

Background: Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a human pathogen naturally present in wild rodents. In addition, LCMV is routinely used in immunology research as a model of viral infection in mice. The Armstrong common laboratory strain and the Clone-13 variant induce acute and chronic infections in mice, respectively. The frequent use of this virus in laboratory settings is associated with a risk of human infection for laboratory personnel. In contrast to LCMV Clone-13, few human laboratory infections with LCMV Armstrong have been reported, leading to a poor understanding of symptoms related to infection with this specific LCMV strain.

Case presentation: A researcher accidentally infected herself percutaneously with LCMV Armstrong. Symptoms including headaches, dizziness, eye pain and nausea appeared seven days post-exposure and lasted ten days. LCMV-IgM antibodies were detected at 28 days post-infection and IgG seroconversion was observed later. Complete recovery was confirmed three months post exposure.

Conclusions: Research involving live viruses comes with the risk of infection for research personnel. This case is the first reported accidental human infection with LCMV Armstrong. The symptoms differed from reported infections with LCMV Clone-13, by the absence of fever and vomiting, and presence of leg numbness. This report will therefore help clinicians and public health authorities to recognize the symptoms associated with LCMV Armstrong infections and to offer appropriate counselling to individuals who accidentally expose themselves.

Keywords: Armstrong; LCMV; Laboratory accidental exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline of symptoms and blood test results following LCMV exposure. Symptoms such as headache and eye pain appeared seven days post-infection, with a severity that was highest between day 9 and day 11 post-infection. Other symptoms included fatigue, dizziness, nausea, leg numbness, congestion, and runny nose. All symptoms lasted for less than ten days. Presence of LCMV-specific IgM was first detected at day 28 post-infection and IgG antibodies were detected at day 66 post-infection. PCR testing was only performed at early time points and was negative
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