• Katherine J Siddle, Philomena Eromon, Kayla G Barnes, Samar Mehta, Judith U Oguzie, Ikponmwosa Odia, Stephen F Schaffner, Sarah M Winnicki, Rickey R Shah, James Qu, Shirlee Wohl, Patrick Brehio, Christopher Iruolagbe, John Aiyepada, Eghosa Uyigue, Patience Akhilomen, Grace Okonofua, Simon Ye, Tolulope Kayode, Fehintola Ajogbasile, Jessica Uwanibe, Amy Gaye, Mambu Momoh, Bridget Chak, Dylan Kotliar, Amber Carter, Adrianne Gladden-Young, Catherine A Freije, Omigie Omoregie, Blessing Osiemi, Ekene B Muoebonam, Michael Airende, Rachael Enigbe, Benevolence Ebo, Iguosadolo Nosamiefan, Paul Oluniyi, Mahan Nekoui, Ephraim Ogbaini-Emovon, Robert F Garry, Kristian G Andersen, Daniel J Park, Nathan L Yozwiak, George Akpede, Chikwe Ihekweazu, Oyewale Tomori, Sylvanus Okogbenin, Onikepe A Folarin, Peter O Okokhere, Bronwyn L MacInnis, Pardis C Sabeti, and Christian T Happi.
• From the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University (K.J.S., K.G.B., S.M., S.F.S., S.M.W., R.R.S., J.Q., S.W., P.B., S.Y., B.C., D.K., A.C., A.G.-Y., C.A.F., D.J.P., N.L.Y., B.L.M., P.C.S.), the Center for Systems Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (K.J.S., K.G.B., S.F.S., S.W., B.C., D.K., C.A.F., N.L.Y., P.C.S.), and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (M.N.), Harvard University, Harvard University Extension School (R.R.S.), and Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, MIT (S.Y., P.C.S.), Cambridge, and the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (K.G.B., S.F.S., B.L.M., P.C.S., C.T.H.), and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Division of Infectious Diseases (S.M.), Boston - all in Massachusetts; the African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (P.E., J.U.O., E.U., T.K., F.A., J.U., A.G., M.M., I.N., P.O., O.T., O.A.F., C.T.H.) and the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences (J.U.O., E.U., T.K., F.A., J.U., P.O., O.A.F., C.T.H.), Redeemer's University, Ede, the Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control (I.O., C. Iruolagbe, J.A., E.U., P.A., G.O., O.O., B.O., E.B.M., M.A., R.E., B.E., E.O.-E., G.A., S.O., P.O.O., C.T.H.) and the Department of Medicine (P.O.O.), Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Abuja (C. Ihekweazu), and the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma (P.O.O.) - all in Nigeria; the Laboratory of Parasitology/Mycology HALD, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal (A.G.); Kenema Government Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone (M.M.); Tulane Health Sciences Center, Tulane University, New Orleans (R.F.G.); the Departments of Immunology and Microbial Science and Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Scripps Research Institute, and the Scripps Translational Science Institute, La Jolla, CA (K.G.A.); and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD (P.C.S.).
• N. Engl. J. Med. 2018 Nov 1; 379 (18): 1745-1753.

AbstractDuring 2018, an unusual increase in Lassa fever cases occurred in Nigeria, raising concern among national and international public health agencies. We analyzed 220 Lassa virus genomes from infected patients, including 129 from the 2017-2018 transmission season, to understand the viral populations underpinning the increase. A total of 14 initial genomes from 2018 samples were generated at Redeemer's University in Nigeria, and the findings were shared with the Nigerian Center for Disease Control in real time. We found that the increase in cases was not attributable to a particular Lassa virus strain or sustained by human-to-human transmission. Instead, the data were consistent with ongoing cross-species transmission from local rodent populations. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed extensive viral diversity that was structured according to geography, with major rivers appearing to act as barriers to migration of the rodent reservoir.

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