Efficacy, Tolerability and Safety of New or Repurposed Drugs Against Lassa Fever in West African Countries
Lassa fever (LF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever responsible of 5000 deaths per year in West Africa, with in-hospital mortality at 12%. Transmission to humans occurs mainly via direct or indirect exposure to excreta from the rodent reservoir, mainly made up of Mastomys natalensis . Less frequently, LASV may also be transmitted from human to human and cause nosocomial outbreaks. Ribavirin is the only treatment available with worrying toxicity, questionable efficacy and low access because of its high cost. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new drugs to treat LF patients. The Research and Development (R\&D) Blueprint of the World Health Organization (WHO) has included LF in the list of priority diseases for urgent research and development. The INTEGRATE consortium is an unprecedented international collaboration on Lassa fever of 15 partners from 10 countries across West Africa, Europe and North America and across several disciplines (epidemiological researchers, social scientists, medical health facility professionals, humanitarian actors, etc.).
• Clinical disease with signs and symptoms suggestive for LF
• Positive plasma LASV RT-PCR
• Participant requires hospitalization per the local guidelines
• Participant or their legally authorized representative is able and willing to sign the informed consent
⁃ • Age ≥ 18 years old