A Bolivian man has died after contracting Chapare virus, an Ebola-like disease so rare that there have only ever been 15 confirmed cases.
The man, a farmer in his 50s, came down with a headache, fever, muscle and joint pain, then began vomiting and bleeding from his gums on December 19th.
He died in hospital just 11 days later, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Test results later confirmed he had been infected with Chapare Hemorrhagic Fever.
The virus was first discovered in rural Bolivia in 2003. Since then, at least fifteen people have contracted the disease, all of them in Bolivia, and eight have died; meaning the virus has a fatality rate of almost 60 per cent.
The virus belongs to a family of serious diseases that can cause haemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola and Marburg viruses.
It is not exactly clear how the man, from the La Paz region, contracted Chapare, although it is primarily caught through contact with the saliva, urine, and droppings of infected rodents like rats or mice.
An investigation carried out by health authorities found a severe rodent infestation in and around the man’s home, as well as poor housing conditions which “created a conducive environment for rodent activity,” the WHO said.
“The patient’s occupation as a farmer likely involved exposure to rodent burrows, also increasing the risk of infection,” the agency added.
Human to human transmission of Chapare is rare, but possible.
In 2019, two patients transmitted Chapare virus to three healthcare workers at a hospital in La Paz, Bolivia’s administrative capital. One of the patients and two of the medical workers later died.
Blood samples collected from close contacts of the recently deceased patient have all so far come back negative, and the risk to the general public remains low, the WHO said.
There are currently no licenced treatments for Chapare virus, although the University of Oxford and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) are advancing vaccine development for Arenavirdiae viruses – the family to Chapare belongs – as part of a $25 million (£20.2 million) initiative.
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