| Title | Lassa virus hepatitis. Observations on a fatal case from the 1972 Sierra Leone epidemic. | | Author(s) | Winn WC, Monath TP, Murphy FA, Whitfield SG | | Source | Arch Pathol 1975 Nov; 99(11):599-604. | | MeSH | Disease Outbreaks Endoplasmic Reticulum Female Hepatitis A Humans Inclusion Bodies, Viral Lassa virus Liver Liver Glycogen Mitochondria, Liver Necrosis Phagocytes Pregnancy Pregnancy Complications, Infectious RNA Viruses Sierra Leone
| | Abstract | During a recent outbreak of Lassa fever in Sierre Leone, a 20-year-old woman developed an acute febrile disease with tonsillar exudates and hemorrhagic manifestations. Lassa virus was isolated in cell cultures from pharyngeal secretions and pleural fluid and was identified by complement fixation. Typical arenavirus particles were observed in these infected cell cultures. In a liver biopsy specimen, diffuse hepatocellular damage and focal necroses were evident, with a spectrum of liver cell change, ranging from slight vacuolizaiton to frank lysis. Virus was frequently observed in nearby extracellular spaces and was clearly associated with hepatocytes rather than sinusoidal cells. The demonstration for the first time of Lassa virus particules in human tissue provides direct evidence that the virus is responsible for the observed pathologic changes. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Case Reports Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 1227472 |
|