What is Chapare virus?
According to the CDC, the Chapare virus in the arenavirus family, and it is spread to humans through direct contact with infected rodents or indirectly through the urine or feces (droppings) of an infected rodent. The virus causes Chapare hemorrhagic fever (CHHF).
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How is the virus transmitted?
The rodent hosts for this virus have still not been identified. However, generally, arenavirus is spread through direct contacts such as bites or scratches or indirect contact like through saliva, urine, and droppings of infected rodents.
The CDC says that a person who has been infected can further spread the infection through contact with the patient’s body fluids, or through aerosols which are generated during procedures in healthcare settings such as during chest compressions, CPR, and intubation
Were there any earlier outbreaks?
The CDC says that there have been 2 outbreaks of the virus, the first occurred in 2003 in Chapare Province, Bolivia. The second one happened in 2019 in Caranavi Province, Bolivia. while one died in 2003, almost three fatalities were reported in the second one. So outbreaks of CHHF have been documented only in the Cochabamba and Caranavi regions of Bolivia.
What is the latest case?
In 2019 there was an outbreak of the infection and two patients transmitted the virus to three healthcare workers in La Paz. In a report by sciencetimes.com two people died of the infection.
Initially, doctors thought it was dengue but further tests ruled it out. The Chapare virus was identified after the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), in partnership with CDC, sampled it. Scientists also discovered that the infection can be spread from person to person and that the virus is present in the semen of a survivor for a duration of 24 weeks or 168 days after getting infected.