{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T19:47:55Z","timestamp":1788551275069,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":135,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]],"date-time":"2024-02-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1707264000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["AI129198"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AI129198"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"West African Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases","award":["AI129198"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["AI129198"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lassa virus (LASV) is a zoonotic pathogen endemic throughout western Africa and is responsible for a human disease known as Lassa fever (LF). Historically, LASV has been emphasized as one of the greatest public health threats in West Africa, with up to 300,000 cases and 5000 associated deaths per year. This, and the fact that the disease has been reported in travelers, has driven a rapid production of various vaccine candidates. Several of these vaccines are currently in clinical development, despite limitations in understanding the immune response to infection. Alarmingly, the host immune response has been implicated in the induction of sensorineural hearing loss in LF survivors, legitimately raising safety questions about any future vaccines as well as efficacy in preventing potential hearing loss. The objective of this article is to revisit the importance and prevalence of LF in West Africa, with focus on Nigeria, and discuss current therapeutic approaches and ongoing vaccine development. In addition, we aim to emphasize the need for more scientific studies relating to LF-associated hearing loss, and to promote critical discussion about potential risks and benefits of vaccinating the population in endemic regions of West Africa.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v16020266","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]],"date-time":"2024-02-07T11:03:14Z","timestamp":1707303794000},"page":"266","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["The Importance of Lassa Fever and Its Disease Management in West Africa"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8421-8397","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rachel","family":"Reyna","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6019-0673","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kirsten","family":"Littlefield","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nathan","family":"Shehu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"},{"name":"Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Medicine, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos P.M.B. 2076, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3397-6395","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tomoko","family":"Makishima","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0088-4793","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Junki","family":"Maruyama","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Slobodan","family":"Paessler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). 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