Chapare Virus: Scientists confirm 'human-to-human' transmission of Ebola-like virus in Bolivia
As the world is still coping from the coronavirus pandemic, due to which over 13 lakh people succumbed to the virus and infected millions, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found a rare deadly virus. This deadly 'Chapare virus' causes haemorrhagic fever like Ebola has been identified in Bolivia.
The Chapare virus in question is capable of human-to-human transmission. The rare virus was discovered due to ongoing efforts of scientists around the globe to avert future pandemics like COVID-19.
However, Chapare virus was first discovered in 2004 Chapare, located east of La Paz in Bolivia, from where it gets its name. After disappearing for year, infected at least five people in 2019.
According to the scientists, two patients, in 2019, transmitted the virus to three healthcare workers in La Paz. One of the patients and two medical workers later died, the Guardian reports. CDC also developed an RT-PCR test to diagnose the virus in the future.
Caitlin Cossaboom, a CDC epidemiologist told The Guardian that “bodily fluids” could potentially carry the virus. Additionally, experts say the virus is present in the semen of a survivor for a duration of 24 weeks or 168 days after getting infected. Also, the virus is believed to be carried by rats.
Symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, bleeding gums, vomiting, skin rashes, and pain behind the yes. Owing to no virus specific treatments, most patients receive care through intravenous fluids, according to the CDC.
“We isolated the virus, and we were expecting to find a more common disease, but the sequence data pointed to Chapare virus,” said Maria Morales-Betoulle, a pathologist at the CDC. “We were really surprised.”
Researchers also said it was likely that the virus had been circulating undetected for several years, as it could easily be misdiagnosed as dengue
