Arenaviruses and Hemorrhagic Fevers: From Virus Discovery to Molecular Biology, Therapeutics, and Prevention in Latin America

Arenaviruses are enveloped viruses that have a bi-segmented negative-stranded RNA genome. The genomic RNA segments, large (L) and small (S), use an ambisense coding strategy to encode two open reading frames in opposite orientation, separated by a noncoding intergenic region. Several arenaviruses are etiological agents of emerging diseases. At present, they are responsible for up to 500,000 zoonotic infections per year in endemic areas of Africa and South America and can lead to severe and lethal hemorrhagic fever as well as neurological symptoms. Arenaviridae represents the largest group of hemorrhagic fever (HF)-causing viruses: five of the South American arenaviruses (CHPV, GTOV, JUNV, MACV, and SABV) are associated with HF in humans.