Viral RNA and infectious virus in mucosal specimens from guinea pigs modeling early phases of lethal and non-lethal Lassa fever

Using two Lassa virus strains, lethal (Josiah) and non-lethal (Sauerwald) for guinea pigs, distribution of viral RNA and infectious viruses were examined in in vivo. In both strain infections, viral RNA and infectious virus were detected in conjunctival, nasal, oral, genital and rectal swab specimens during acute phase. In the clinical period, viruses were continuously isolated from these swab specimens. The conjunctival and nasal specimens contained the infectious viruses most frequently.