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Arenaviruses are a global threat, causing thousands of deaths each year in several countries around the world. Despite strong efforts in the development of vaccine candidates, vaccines against Lassa fever or Bolivian and Venezuelan hemorrhagic fevers are yet to be licensed for a use in humans. In this synthesis, we present the arenaviruses causing fatal diseases in humans and the main vaccine candidates that have been developed over the past decades with an emphasis on the measles-Lassa vaccine, the first Lassa vaccine ever tested in humans, and on the MOPEVAC platform that can potentially be used as a pan-arenavirus vaccine platform., (© 2023 médecine/sciences – Inserm.)

For most viral hemorrhagic fevers caused by arenaviruses, no prophylactic vaccine is available yet. Only one therapeutic treatment is currently available and should be administered at the early stages of the infection. This is particularly problematic as these diseases are difficult to diagnose and cure. Lassa fever is the most important pathology caused by arenaviruses, including millions of people at risk in West Africa. For decades, promising studies focusing on the development of vaccine candidates targeting Lassa virus have been published, but no vaccine candidate had reached the clinical phase. The second arenavirus in terms of number of human infections is the Junín virus in Argentina. The Junín infected case number has drastically decreased since the use of the Candid #1 vaccine. This review summarizes past and present experimental studies regarding treatments against arenaviruses responsible for human hemorrhagic fevers from a prophylactic and therapeutic point of view. It also discusses future breakthroughs to get available and effective treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among mammals, rodents play a key role in the emergence of viral diseases. In French Guiana, with 36 rodent species recorded in various ecosystems (pristine forests, savannas, anthropized environments), some natural habitats today encounter anthropogenic perturbations that induce changes in community structure and population dynamics. These modifications are sometimes associated with the circulation and emergence of viral pathogens. For 10 years, investigations on the circulation of two rodent-borne viruses, Hantavirus and Mammarenavirus, are underway in rodent populations as well as in humans for hantavirus. These investigations identified viruses from both genera in their potential reservoirs and allow describing the most favourable habitats for the reservoirs of hantavirus where the risk of viral emergence may be higher. We suggest to investigate how anthropic perturbations in rodent communities can drive the emergence of viruses that are currently confined to a small scale and search for evidence of infection in the human population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]