RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A virus found in Bolivia that causes hemorrhagic fever with symptoms similar to those of Ebola can be spread between humans, say researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a publication released on Monday, November 16th.
In the document, part of the ASTMH (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene) annual report, scientists detail evidence that the Chapare mammarenavirus spread among healthcare professionals in the country in 2019.
“Our work confirmed that a young medical resident, an ambulance physician, and a gastroenterologist contracted the virus after meeting with infected patients – and two of these healthcare professionals died later,” said Caitlin Cossaboom, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology.
The group says they believe body fluids can carry the virus. At least five cases of hemorrhagic fever caused by the Chapare virus were reported last year near the capital La Paz.
Until then, the only record of this virus dated back to 2004, precisely in the province that gave it its name, about 600 km east of La Paz.
Last year’s outbreak left local and regional health authorities on alert. CDC and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) researchers immediately traveled to Bolivia to find out more about the deadly virus.
They found that the Chapare is from the sanavirus family, which includes other dangerous pathogens such as the Lassa virus, which kills thousands of people every year in West Africa, and the Machupo virus, which has also reached Bolivia and caused deaths.
In Brazil, a death case from the arenavirus (called Sabiá) was detected last year.
The symptoms of infection by the virus studied are similar to those of the Ebola virus: fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding gums, rash, and pain behind the eyes.
As there is no specific treatment, patients are provided with assistance in the hope that the body will successfully defend itself from the virus.
Origin
Researchers are now trying to determine the virus’ primary host. Some genetic evidence compared the RNA found in humans with that of rodents, showing great similarity with the Oligoryzomys microtis species.
These analyzed mice were found near the home of the first patient of the 2019 outbreak, a farmworker who also died.
However, up to now, there has been no way to prove that the rodents were capable of transmitting the virus.
Scientists believe that the Chapare virus has been in circulation in Bolivia for several years, but the infected patients may have been wrongly diagnosed as carriers of dengue, a common disease in the region that can produce similar symptoms.
Source: R7