A rare virus that is transmitted between humans was discovered … and 3 deaths were recorded

Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered a rare person-to-person transmission of a rare virus in Bolivia that belongs to a family of viruses that can cause hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola, according to The Guardian.
This news is a reminder that scientists are working to identify new viral threats to humanity, even as countries around the world fight a new wave of the Corona virus outbreak.
Scientists said that in 2019, two patients transmitted the virus to three health workers in Bolivia’s de facto capital, La Paz. One patient and two members of the medical staff subsequently died. Only one small outbreak of the virus was documented in the Chabary region, 370 miles east of La Paz, in 2004.
“Our work confirmed that a young resident physician, an ambulance physician, and a gastroenterologist contracted the virus after encountering infected patients … Two healthcare workers later died,” said Caitlin Cosaboom, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control. of Diseases. We now believe that many bodily fluids can carry the virus. “
The virus is believed to be carried by rats, which in turn may have transmitted it to humans. In general, viruses that spread through body fluids are easier to contain than respiratory viruses such as “Covid-19”.
Cosabom said the patients had a fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding gums, a rash and pain behind the eyes. Because there are no specific medications for this disease, patients only receive supportive care, such as intravenous fluids.
“We isolated the virus and we expected to find a more common disease, but the sequence data indicated the Chapari virus … We were very surprised,” said Maria Morales Petul, a pathologist with the Centers for Disease Control.
The results were presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. It is considered important, because person-to-person transmission could indicate the possibility of a disease outbreak in the future.
The researchers also explained that the virus may have spread for several years undetected, because it can easily be misdiagnosed as dengue fever, which is a virus with similar symptoms. The scientists said they need to continue studying the virus to understand its potential to cause outbreaks.
Scientists were able to quickly identify, contain, and develop the virus, thanks to close international cooperation between US health authorities on the ground, Bolivian health authorities, and scientists from the Pan American Health Organization branch of the World Organization of the Health.
“Although there is still a lot of unknown information about the chabari virus, it is worth mentioning how quickly this team was able to develop a diagnostic test and confirm transmission of the infection from one person to another,” said Dr. Joel Braiman. Preliminary evidence of the presence of the virus in rodents ”.
He continued: “It is a valuable lesson to share freely with international scientific teams, equipped with the latest tools, their visions is our best line of defense against the destructive threats of deadly infectious diseases.”