Spatio-temporal spread of Lassa virus and a new rodent host in the Mano River Union area, West Africa.

The spread of Lassa virus (LASV) in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which together are named the Mano River Union (MRU) area, was examined phylogeographically. To provide a reliable evolutionary scenario, new rodent-derived, whole LASV sequences were included. These were generated by metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing from rodents sampled between 2003 and 2020 in 21 localities of Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Genome sequence of white sturgeon herpesvirus 1 isolated from farmed white sturgeon ().

The genome sequence of white sturgeon herpesvirus 1, which was isolated from farmed white sturgeon (), was determined. Comparative analyses suggest the classification of this virus as a new species in a new genus in the family .

Identifying the genetic basis of viral spillover using Lassa virus as a test case.

The rate at which zoonotic viruses spill over into the human population varies significantly over space and time. Remarkably, we do not yet know how much of this variation is attributable to genetic variation within viral populations. This gap in understanding arises because we lack methods of genetic analysis that can be easily applied to zoonotic viruses, where the number of available viral sequences is often limited, and opportunistic sampling introduces significant population stratification.

Genome Sequences of Five Arenaviruses from Pygmy Mice (Mus minutoides) in Sierra Leone.

The genome sequences of five strains of a mammarenavirus were assembled from metagenomic data from pygmy mice (Mus minutoides) captured in Sierra Leone. The nearest fully sequenced relatives of this virus, which was named Seli virus, are lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, Lunk virus, and Ryukyu virus.