2023-12-04 23:27:00
Scientists discovered in Peru a virus that causes symptoms similar to dengue, malaria and other tropical infections in the region. The discovery was made following a 20-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with symptoms that included fever, chills, and muscle and joint pain.
The study was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases (in Spanish, Emerging infectious diseases). The patient, who was not identified, was a civil builder who was admitted to the Julio César Demarini Caro Regional Teaching Hospital of Tropical Medicine, located in the Peruvian city of Chanchamayo, on June 25, 2019. The investigation does not clarify whether the young man recovered from the disease.
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“[El joven] had a history of two days of evolution with fever, general malaise, chills, systemic muscle pain, arthralgia (joint pain), generalized headache, drowsiness, photophobia (sensitivity to light), retroocular pain (behind the eyeball) and anorexia. In addition, she had conjunctival injection (red eyes) and an axillary temperature of 39 ° C,” the text reads.
Researchers from the US Naval Medical Research Unit in Lima, led by research technician Gilda Troncos, discovered the pathogen following taking a sample of her blood. Scientists detected the Candiru phlebovirus, while warning that the virus is likely circulating in the central jungle of Peru.
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However, segments of the virus analyzed showed differences with the Candiru type that “they might not be explained by a mutation of the virus,” which indicates that the man was infected with a new virus. Likewise, the analyzes suggested that the pathogen was formed by the Candiru virus recombining with a new strain of the Echarate virus.
The virus is a phlebovirus that can be transmitted by sandflies, mosquitoes or ticks. Infections cause high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain and meningitis. Until now, only three phleboviruses that cause fever had been detected in Peru: Echarate, Maldonado and Candiru.
The best known disease that this pathogen can trigger is Rift Valley Feverwhich can cause a life-threatening hemorrhagic fever that causes bleeding from the mouth, eyes, and ears, as well as internal organs.
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In response to the new virus, health chiefs in the United Kingdom echoed calls for patients with diseases that cause fever are monitored. In this regard, the research team led by Troncos warned that continuous monitoring is needed among individuals with symptoms similar to those of dengue, malaria and other tropical infections, with the aim of detecting new viruses and protecting public health.
Likewise, they requested that ecological studies be carried out to determine how widespread the new variant is in the region and detect possible sources of infection. In this sense, the United Kingdom Health Security Agency indicated that this is “necessary to detect new and emerging pathogens.”
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