Health Alerts

The Bolivian Health Ministry confirmed on July 3rd that the death of two people was caused by Machupo virus (MACV), an arenavirus transmitted to humans through rodents (a haemorrhagic fever also known as black typhus). The diagnosis was confirmed by the state-run National Institute of Health Laboratories, the National Center of Tropical Diseases and the Atlanta, Georgia-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The initial patient was as a resident of Caranavi, a town in northern La Paz, who infected 3 treating doctors, one of whom died with the initial patient, two infected doctors remain hospitalised and 2 other possible cases remain under observation. Read more.