Current perspectives on vaccines and therapeutics for Lassa Fever

Abstract

Lassa virus, the cause of deadly Lassa fever, is endemic in West Africa, where thousands of cases occur on an annual basis. Nigeria continues to report increasingly severe outbreaks of Lassa Fever each year and there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the prevention or treatment of Lassa Fever. Given the high burden of disease coupled with the potential for further escalation due to climate change the WHO has listed Lassa virus as a priority pathogen with the potential to cause widespread outbreaks. Several candidate vaccines have received support and have entered clinical trials with promising early results. This review focuses on the current state of vaccine and therapeutic development for LASV disease and the potential of these interventions to advance through clinical trials. The growing burden of LASV disease in Africa highlights the importance of advancing preclinical and clinical testing of vaccines and therapeutics to respond to the growing threat of LASV disease.

Keywords: Animal models; Antivirals; Convalescent plasma; Lassa fever; Lassa virus; Monoclonal antibodies; Therapeutics; Vaccines.