Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB)

The Viral Special Pathogens Branch is involved in activities that address more than 35 highly infectious viruses across five different viral families, many of which cause hemorrhagic fevers and other deadly diseases.

Some of these viruses are rare, whereas others are quite common and cause frequently debilitating or fatal disease in many thousands of people. While a portion of the virus types are found in relatively small geographic areas, others are distributed over continents.

VSPB diseases include:

• Ebola hemorrhagic fever
• Marburg hemorrhagic fever
• Lassa fever
• Rift valley fever virus
• Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
• Arenaviruses
• Hantaviruses

Activities include:

• Monitoring of hemorrhagic fevers and other infectious diseases
• Operation of Biosafety Level 4 labs for safe containment of viruses
• Responding to outbreaks and conducting epidemiological fieldwork
• Assisting with disease detection and control measures
• Conducting ecological investigations of emerging zoonotic viruses