Chapare Virus: Scientists confirm virus capable of human-to-human transmission; Here's everything you need to know about the virus

The world is fighting to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemic. Amid the pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recently found a rare virus in Bolivia. 

The virus is capable of human-to-human transmission, and can cause haemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. The scientists found out about the rare virus during the ongoing efforts around the globe to avert future pandemics like COVID-19.

What is Chapare virus ?
- Chapare virus spreads through bodily fluids. It is capable of human-to-human transmission, and can cause haemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. 

How does the virus spread?
-  Caitlin Cossaboom, an epidemiologist with the CDC told The Guardian that “bodily fluids” could potentially carry the virus. Additionally, rats to believed to carry the virus. They may have passed it on to human beings. 

What are chances of survival if a person contracts the disease?
- Viruses that spread through bodily fluids are brought under control a lot easier than respiratory viruses.

What are the symptoms of Chapare virus?
-According to the CDC, symptoms include fever, abdominal pain, bleeding gums, vomiting, skin rashes, and pain behind the yes. Owing to no virus specific treatments, most patients receive care through intravenous fluids.

In 2019, two people with the virus had transmitted it to three healthcare workers in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. Out of these, one patient and two medical workers died. In 2004, a small outbreak of the virus was registered in the Chapare region, which lies east of La Paz.

“We isolated the virus, and we were expecting to find a more common disease, but the sequence data pointed to Chapare virus,” said Maria Morales-Betoulle, a pathologist at the CDC. “We were really surprised.”

On Monday, the findings of the Chapare virus were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).