A rare virus that transmits between humans was discovered … and...

Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered a rare human-to-human 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 are fighting a new wave of the Corona virus outbreak.
In 2019, the scientists said, two patients transmitted the virus to three health care workers in the de facto capital of Bolivia, La Paz. One patient and two medical personnel later 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 doctor, an ambulance medic, and a gastroenterologist all contracted the virus after encountering infected patients … Two health care workers later died,” said Caitlin Cosaboom, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control. We now think that many body 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 drugs for this disease, patients receive only supportive care such as intravenous fluids.
“We isolated the virus, and we were expecting to find a more common disease, but the sequence data indicated Chapari virus … We were really surprised,” said Maria Morales Petul, a pathologist at the CDC.
The results were presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. It is seen as important, because human-to-human transmission could indicate the possibility of a disease outbreak in the future.
The researchers also explained that it is possible that the virus has spread for several years without being detected, because it can easily be incorrectly diagnosed as dengue fever, which is a virus with similar symptoms. Scientists said they need to continue studying the virus to understand its potential for causing outbreaks.
Scientists were able to quickly identify, contain and develop the virus, due to the close international cooperation between the US health authorities on the ground, the Bolivian health authorities, and scientists with the Pan-American Health Organization branch of the World Health Organization.
“Although there is still a lot of unknown information about the Shabari virus, it is worth mentioning how quickly this team was able to develop a diagnostic test, confirm the transmission of the infection from one person to another, and reveal the Preliminary evidence of the presence of the virus in rodents ».
He continued, “It is a valuable lesson that the free participation of international scientific teams, equipped with the latest tools, their visions is our best line of defense against the destructive threats of deadly infectious diseases.”