The deadly and little-known Chapare virus worries scientists

In mid-November, tropical disease specialists met at a virtual conference of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. They raised the case of Chapare, says Futura Sciences, a still little-known virus that killed three people in Bolivia.

It was 2019, at the La Paz hospital. Patients with symptoms similar to Ebola haemorrhagic fever were admitted: fever, abdominal pain, vomiting and bleeding gums. They are carriers of the Chapare virus, which first appeared in 2004 in Bolivia.

An identified natural reservoir

While in the hospital, these patients infect five caregivers. In total, three people died. Other cases have subsequently been observed, including one in a child. Scientists still know very little about this virus, for which there is no specific treatment, apart from the fact that it is transmitted by contaminated biological fluids (blood, urine, saliva, sperm).

The researchers, however, were able to identify a potential natural reservoir for the virus in 2019: the pygmy rats of the paddy field. They are now working on tests to accurately diagnose this emerging infectious disease, to be monitored closely over the next few years.