Arenaviral haemorrhagic fever refers to severe haemorrhagic disease in humans caused by arenaviruses, specifically including Lassa, Junin, and Machupo viruses in the source material [1]. The broader Arenaviridae family is described as containing 22 recognized virus species, most of them strongly associated with rodent species, indicating a long co-evolutionary relationship with their reservoir hosts [2]. New World arenaviruses are noted to use transferrin receptor 1 for entry into host cells [3].
Disease Profile
Arenaviral haemorrhagic fever
沙粒病毒出血热
Arenaviral haemorrhagic fever is a viral haemorrhagic disease caused by arenaviruses, with severe human disease described for Lassa, Junin, and Machupo viruses as Lassa fever, Argentine haemorrhagic fever, and Bolivian haemorrhagic fever, respectively [1]. The condition is reported as a continuing public-health concern and a cause of considerable economic hardship in endemic areas [1]. Source-backed detail on additional clinical or epidemiologic subtypes is limited in the provided material, so the profile below remains conservative and evidence-bounded [1][2].
The illness is characterised by an insidious onset of influenza-like symptoms [1]. In severe cases, it progresses to a generalised bleeding diathesis, encephalopathy, and death [1]. The provided sources also indicate that disease pathogenesis involves cellular dysfunction that is disproportionate to overt histopathology [1]. In Lassa fever and Argentine haemorrhagic fever, platelet dysfunction is described as contributing to the bleeding tendency, with possible endothelial-cell involvement in the former [1].
The source material identifies endemic areas as settings where these diseases impose considerable economic hardship, and it states that they remain a worldwide concern for public-health officials [1]. Arenaviruses are strongly associated with rodent species, with Old World arenaviruses linked to Eurasian rodents in the family Muridae and New World arenaviruses linked to American rodents in the subfamily Sigmodontinae [2]. Tacaribe virus is noted as an exception associated with a bat species [2]. Source-backed detail on country-specific incidence, seasonality, or outbreak size is not yet available in the provided snippets [1][2].
The provided sources support a reservoir association with rodents for most arenaviruses, indicating exposure ecology centered on infected reservoir hosts [2]. New World arenaviruses use transferrin receptor 1 for entry into host cells, but the snippets do not further specify human transmission routes or environmental exposure mechanisms [3]. Source-backed detail on person-to-person spread, aerosol exposure, or other specific transmission pathways is not yet available in the supplied material [1][2].
Source-backed high-risk groups are not specifically enumerated in the provided snippets [1][2]. The most concrete exposure context available is residence in or connection to endemic areas where rodent-associated arenaviruses circulate [1][2].
The snippets do not provide specific preventive measures, vaccine guidance, or exposure-control recommendations for arenaviral haemorrhagic fever [1][2]. The available evidence does support that public-health concern is tied to endemic settings and to the rodent-associated ecology of the viruses, which may inform surveillance-oriented risk awareness [1][2]. Source-backed detail on control measures is not yet available in the supplied material [1][2].
In surveillance terms, this disease should be read as a severe viral haemorrhagic syndrome with a nonspecific early phase and potential progression to bleeding, encephalopathy, and death [1]. Because the source material links these viruses to rodent reservoirs and identifies their persistence as a public-health concern in endemic areas, case finding is likely most meaningful when interpreted alongside local exposure ecology and travel or residence in endemic settings [1][2]. Source-backed detail on formal case definitions or laboratory algorithms is not yet available in the provided sources [1][2].
- 1 Cummins D et al. Arenaviral haemorrhagic fevers. Blood Rev. 1991 Sep. PMID: 1777745. doi: 10.1016/0268-960x(91)90029-c. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1777745/
- 2 Gonzalez JP et al. Arenaviruses. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2007. PMID: 17848068. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-70962-6_11. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17848068/
- 3 Kawabata H et al. Transferrin and transferrin receptors update. Free Radic Biol Med. 2019 Mar. PMID: 29969719. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.06.037. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29969719/
- 4 Arenaviral haemorrhagic fevers. Blood Reviews. 1991. doi: 10.1016/0268-960x(91)90029-c. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0268-960x(91)90029-c
- 5 Arenaviral Hemorrhagic Fevers. Feigin and Cherry's Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 2025. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-323-82763-8.00199-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-82763-8.00199-0
- 6 Arenaviral Hemorrhagic Fevers. Neurological Disease and Therapy. 2005. doi: 10.1201/b14153-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/b14153-6
- A96
Dataset Archive
Supplementary Data | Multi-country disease dataset
Machine-readable multi-country disease dataset (JSON/CSV) with source metadata.
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