In Boliviathe Zoonoses Division of the Virgin of Chaguaya Hospital at Russetin the department of tarija declared on July 4, 2022 that 4 cases of infection with Hantavirus were reported and the regional health system issued an alert.
While the type of Hantavirus was not specified, it should be recalled that in the lowlands of the Amazon basin of Bolivia the virus often responsible for Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is the black lagoon virus whose host rodents is the little mouse vesper (Calomys laucha).
Hantavirus endemic areas are the regions of Great Chaco and the province ofArce. These cases of hantavirus infections in the department of Tarija are not new and cases occur there sporadically.
Reminders on New World Hantavirus
Le hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is a serious lung disease caused by a hantavirusa virus belonging to the family of Bunyaviridae.
Symptoms usually occur 2-4 weeks after exposure to the virus. The first symptoms are fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches. Then 1 to 5 days after the onset of symptoms, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome occurs, which combines coughing and difficulty breathing.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine.
The reservoir animal is a rodent whose species varies according to the regions of the world. Humans are accidental hosts of these viruses, which can be transmitted by inhalation of aerosols contaminated with feces or urine of infected rodents or by direct contact with living or dead infected rodents or with feces or urine. of these rodents.
Recommendations for hikers:
- Use sites designated for camping or day detention.
- Do not sleep in contact with the grass.
- Travel on designated trails.
- Maintain good hand and food hygiene.
- Consume clean water and do not collect wild fruits in areas where rodents are evident.
Source : ProMED.