What is the Chapare virus?

• A rare Ebola-like illness that is believed to have first originated in rural Bolivia in 2004 can spread through human-to-human transmission.
• The biggest outbreak of the ‘Chapare virus’ was reported in 2019, when three healthcare workers contracted the illness from two patients in the Bolivian capital of La Paz.
• The Chapare hemorrhagic fever (CHHF) is caused by the same arenavirus family that is responsible for illnesses such as the Ebola virus disease (EVD).
• Chapare virus are generally carried by rats and can be transmitted through direct contact with the infected rodent, its urine and droppings, or through contact with an infected person.
• It causes a hemorrhagic fever much like Ebola along with abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding gums, skin rash and pain behind the eyes.
• Viral hemorrhagic fevers are a severe and life-threatening kind of illness that can affect multiple organs and damage the walls of blood vessels.

How is the Chapare hemorrhagic fever treated?

• Since there are no specific drugs to treat the disease, patients generally receive supportive care such as intravenous fluids.

What is the threat posed by the Chapare virus?

• Scientists have pointed out that the Chapare virus is much more difficult to catch than the coronavirus as it is not transmissible via the respiratory route.
• Instead, Chapare spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids.
• The people who are particularly at risk of contracting the illness are healthcare workers and family members who come in close contact with infected people.
• The disease is also known to be most commonly transmitted in more tropical regions, particularly in certain parts of South America where the small-eared pigmy rice rat is commonly found.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-all-about-the-rare-ebola-like-chapare-virus-that-can-spread-from-human-to-human-7055914/

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