In 2019, five people were infected and three died near the Bolivian capital La Paz by the Chapare virus. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers detailed new clues to the mysterious disease that have recently been uncovered.
The Chapare virus is an arenavirus, like the deadly Lassa virus which, in West Africa, causes thousands of deaths every year. Similar to the Ebola virus, arenaviruses can produce a haemorrhagic fever, causing multiple organ damage.
The researchers identified human transmission from patients to healthcare workers, and believe that blood, semen and other bodily fluids can transmit the disease.
Caitlin Cossaboom, DVM, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, said, “Our work confirmed that a young medical resident, an ambulance medic and a gastroenterologist all contracted the virus after encounters with infected patients–and two of these healthcare workers later died. We now believe many bodily fluids can potentially carry the virus.”
Viral DNA was found in the semen of one the survivors, raising the prospect of sexual transmission. Viral DNA was also found in rodents in the area, although the researchers cautioned that it did not necessarily represent a source.
“The genome sequence of the RNA we isolated in rodent specimens matches quite well with what we have seen in human cases,” Cassaboom said.
By pooling resources, researchers were able to make rapid headway in identifying the disease. Gene sequencing technology quickly confirmed the virus as a match for the original 2004 outbreak.
Source: Eureka Alert
