Lassa fever, a viral disease in West Africa, affects around 2 million people annually, with 5,000–10,000 deaths—but data on its true impact in high-risk groups is limited. Neonates, children, and pregnant women are among the hardest hit.
Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines (SPEAC)‘s Dr. Manu Chaudhary, MBBS, MD and Flor Munoz, MD, MSc, in collaboration with members from the Maternal Immunization Working Group of experts (co-author members include: Clare Cutland, Mercedes Bonet, Angela Gentile, Christine E. Jones, Helen S. Marshall, Andy Stergachis, Gerald Voss, Delese Mimi Darko, Esperança Sevene, Terri Hyde, Lee Fairlie, Beate Kampmann, Darcie Everett), published a review titled, “Burden of Lassa fever disease in pregnant women and children and options for prevention“ in Vaccine.
Read the complete article at https://lnkd.in/eQVCzdV9
The article highlights elevated fatality rates among children, newborns, and pregnant women, as well as increased risk for miscarriage and stillbirth.
Despite these grim outcomes, vaccine trials rarely include these special groups. Of the four ongoing Lassa virus vaccine trials, only one includes children—and none include pregnant or breastfeeding women yet.
The call to action is clear:
▪︎ Develop a pathway to ensure the availability of safe and effective vaccines tailored to these populations.
▪︎ Ensure inclusion of these special groups in clinical trials as soon as feasible, with robust safety measures.
▪︎ Invest in disease surveillance and prevention strategies in susceptible high-risk populations to close critical gaps.
Protecting children, newborns, and pregnant women is essential to combat Lassa fever effectively. Let’s drive awareness, innovation, and equity in vaccine development for those who need it most.
Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines (SPEAC)‘s Special Populations Working Group is working to support this call to action by conducting a Living Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the safety of Lassa fever vaccines in pregnancy and in pediatric populations, available at: www.safeinpregnancy.org and www.safeinchildren.org
