BRANFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A study published online in PLoS Pathogens reports that researchers at Columbia University, the South African National Health Laboratory Services, the US Centers for Disease Control, and 454 Life Sciences have discovered a new virus that is responsible for a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Zambia and South Africa late 2008(1). The previously unknown arenavirus, which is distantly related to the Lassa virus and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, was characterized using the rapid and sensitive sequencing technology of 454 Life Sciences. The new species, named “Lujo virus” for the geographic origin of the outbreak (Lusaka, Zambia and Johannesburg, South Africa), is the first hemorrhagic fever-associated arenavirus from Africa identified in the past three decades. Characterization of the novel virus confirms the utility of unbiased high-throughput sequencing for pathogen discovery and provides an opportunity for public health efforts to quickly curb emerging viral pandemics in the future.
