Abstract:
A renaviruses are segmented negative-strand RNA vi-
ruses. Their natural hosts are various rodent species.
The virus family comprises several human pathogens caus-
ing hemorrhagic fever, namely Machupo, Guanarito, Junin,
Sabia, and Chapare viruses in South America, and Lassa
and Lujo viruses in Africa (1–3). In addition, Africa har-
bors arenaviruses that are not linked with human disease:
Mobala, Ippy, Mopeia, and Kodoko viruses (4–7). We con-
ducted a systematic search in wildlife in Tanzania to iden-
tify new African arenaviruses.
