Saliou Samb
CONAKRY, May 23 2006 (IPS) – Scientists who discovered a new variant of the hantavirus, in Guinea, have advised that measures be taken to avoid its possible transmission to humans. The virus is carried by a type of mouse, Hylomyscus simus, which is found in forested areas of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d Ivoire and Ghana.
We don t know at this point if this new virus, named the Sangassou hantavirus, is dangerous for humans, but we re in the process of investigating (the matter), said Dr Jan ter Meulen, head of the research team. The virus was named after the area of Guinea where it was discovered (the first hantavirus took its name from the Hantaan river area in South Korea, where it was identified).
While he has been quoted as saying that people should not be unduly afraid of the virus, ter Meulen nonetheless thinks that it probably is able to be transmitted to humans.
Hantaviruses present in Europe, Asia and the United States are known to cause disease in humans and may even prove fatal: in 1993, about 20 people died from the virus in the United States.
We discovered a hantavirus which seems to resemble the one that causes grave illness in Asia and Europe, of which the main symptoms are fever, kidney failure and haemorrhaging (bleeding), said ter Meulen.
Serious illnesses caused by hantaviruses form part of the family of illnesses called haemorrhagic viral fevers, like Lassa fever, yellow fever or Ebola fever, that are all found in West Africa.
In light of this certain precautions are in order, observes another researcher: Dr Lamine Koivogui, co-ordinator of the Project to Research Viral and Haemorrhagic Fevers in Guinea (Projet des recherches sur les fièvres virales hémorragiques en Guinée, PFHG).
For the moment, we can only advise people to avoid all contact with the mice in which we discovered the Sangassou hantavirus. Above all, they must avoid being bitten or eating the uncooked flesh of these rodents In addition, food must be well protected to avoid contact (with mice), he noted. Children are said to eat the mice on occasion, for amusement.
Scientists also recommend that families keep cats as pets, as these prey on the mice that harbour the Sangassou hantavirus.
It is necessary to make people who have contact with this type of mouse aware (of the virus). At the same time, we must push ahead with research on the virus, to understand its process of evolution, said Koivogui.
The rodents are common in the southern region of Nzérékoré, and Faranah in central Guinea. An upcoming study will examine the percentage of the population testing positive for exposure to the virus.
The discovery of the Sangassou variant marks the first time that a hantavirus has been found in Africa.
At first, we began a research programme on the Lassa and yellow fever viruses. It was by accident that we discovered this new hantavirus, said Koivogui.
About 15 scientists took part in the study, of which the findings were published this month.
With financing from the European Union (EU), the PFHG allows researchers to study viral fevers like Lassa, yellow fever and other sicknesses.
The EU provided more than 400,000 dollars for a six-year period from 1999 to 2005. There is also a fund of almost 50,000 dollars planned for the 2006 to 2009 period, according to Koivogui.
Symptoms of Lassa fever include a high fever, and bleeding in the nose, mouth and ears. The virus that causes this illness is also carried by a species of mouse, Mastomys natalensis.
Lassa fever sometimes causes people infected with it to die. If in Guinea the prevalence of Lassa is significant in the forested region, one must note that this fever is (also) responsible for many deaths in Liberia and Sierra Leone, said Dr Assiatou Bah, a specialist in haemorrhagic fevers at the Hospital Centre of Donka University in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.
The virus responsible was discovered for the first time in Nigeria, in a village called Lassa, she added.
Yellow fever and Ebola fever have already caused hundreds of fatalities in Africa.
According to the World Health Organisation, the Ebola virus was responsible for the deaths of about 800 people in Africa between 1976 and 2000. The countries most affected were Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Uganda.
