What is ‘Chapare Virus’? New Outbreak from South America

Bolivia: Exactly a year after the first case of Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) was reportedly spotted, United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that a deadly virus- ‘Chapare Virus’ with its origin in Bolivia it can disturb the world. The symptoms of this virus are similar to Ebola and can also be transmitted through humans.

The new virus, when transmitted, can be severe and can lead to brain haemorrhage.

The origin of this virus was seen in the Chapare area of Bolivia in the year 2004. According to the report in Live Science, the CDC said that in 2019, three out of five people who were affected by this infection were health workers, out of which two died.

As per the reports, Colin Carlson, a researcher at Georgetown University, said that a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola spreads very hard like a corona or flu. This is because symptoms of hemorrhagic fever usually appear immediately after infection (due to prolonged respiratory illness) and the disease is spread from one person to another by direct contact with the infected. But if it takes the form of an epidemic, it can devastate the medical system. Many health workers get sick while treating patients.

What are the symptoms of Chapare virus?

In 2019, the first signs of this Chapare virus were found in a collection of human body fluids. The doctors who collected the samples believed that the patients must have come in contact with dengue. CDC researcher Maria Morales stated that “dengue is very prevalent in South America. With the symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, nothing can think before dengue. These two are very similar.”

CDC’s infectious disease specialist Caitlin Cosaboom said that patients who got infected with the virus complained of fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding gums, skin blisters and eye pain. At present, there is no cure for this virus; in this case, water is the only way.

There is currently no treatment for the viral disease. However, supportive therapy, including hydration and transfusions, can help.