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Reverse Genetics Systems As Tools To Overcome The Genetic Diversity Of Lassa Virus, Brett Beitzel, Christine E. Hulseberg, Gustavo Palacios

US Army Research

Lassa virus is endemic in a large area of sub-Saharan Africa, and exhibits a large amount of genetic diversity. Of the four currently recognized lineages, lineages I–III circulate in Nigeria, and lineage IV circulates in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia. However, several newly detected lineages have been proposed. LASV genetic diversity may result in differences in pathogenicity or response to medical countermeasures, necessitating the testing of multiple lineages during the development of countermeasures and diagnostics. Logistical and biosafety concerns can make it difficult to obtain representative collections of divergent LASV clades for comparison studies. For example, lack of a cold …