Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever common in West Africa. Most cases are mild, but severe cases can be life-threatening, especially for pregnant women. Researchers hoped a rapid diagnostic test would help catch cases earlier, but a recent study casts a damper on that hope. Harvard Public Health spoke with Temmy Sunyoto, senior operational research advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières and coauthor of the study.
Why study this topic?
We wanted to address the unmet need for accessible and reliable tests for Lassa fever in Nigeria. Patients often don’t go to the doctor until their condition is severe, and existing PCR tests are often unavailable. The study evaluated a rapid diagnostic test that could be used at the patient’s bedside to improve early detection and treatment.
What did you find?
We found that the performance of the Lassa fever rapid diagnostic test was quite weak. It detected only one out of 10 cases when used at the bedside. Even when used in a laboratory setting with plasma samples, the detection rate was only around 40-50 percent. We concluded that the current rapid test cannot be effectively deployed for Lassa fever diagnosis.
What would you like to see happen based on the study’s results?
There is a need to improve Lassa fever diagnostics and raise awareness about the limitations of the current rapid test. We also want a continual collaboration with national partners like the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that the research benefits Nigeria and is integrated into the country’s efforts to control Lassa fever.
—Paul Adepoju
(Study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, May 2024)
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