50 years ago, scientists were trying to get a grip on Lassa fever
Excerpt from the March 21, 1970 issue of Science News
Multimammate rats (Mastomys natalensis), endemic to West Africa, spread Lassa fever to people.
Joe Blossom/Alamy Stock Photo
Studying a killer, Science News, March 21, 1970 –
In January 1969 an unknown virus was isolated for the first time from the sera of two nurses, who died.… The infection, being called Lassa fever, involved almost all the body’s organs.… Doctors so far suspect that the disease was transmitted by an animal, but what animal is not known.