Chapare Hemorrhagic Fever

Definition: Chapare hemorrhagic fever (CHHF) is caused by Chapare virus, a single-strand RNA virus of the Arenaviridae family. Chapare virus is certainly zoonotic, or animal-borne. The limited clinical information about CHHF comes from a small, poorly described cluster of hemorrhagic fever cases in rural Bolivia. A single fatal case yielded the only clinical description and blood specimen to date.

Symptoms and Treatment: The symptoms of CHHF, as reported in the only described patient, resemble those of other South American hemorrhagic fevers, such as Argentine HF or Bolivian HF. The incubation period is unknown, but for Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is 6 to 16 days. The CHHF clinical course included: Fever, headache, articulation and muscle pain, vomiting. These symptoms were followed by deterioration with multiple hemorrhagic signs. The only described CHHF patient died 14 days after onset of symptoms. Supportive therapy is important in CHHF. This includes: maintenance of hydration, management of shock, sedation, pain relief, usual precautions for patients with bleeding disorders, transfusions. Use of convalescent plasma therapy for treatment of AHF reduces mortality significantly and anecdotal evidence shows that the antiviral drug ribavirin may also hold promise for treating AHF. Ribavirin has also been considered for preventing development of disease in people exposed to other arenaviruses.

Statistics: statistics of Chapare Hemorrhagic Fever in Germany were stated as the first outbreak of MACV was reported in Bolivia between 1959 and 1964. Between 1976 and 1993 there were no reported cases of BHF, potentially due to implementation of rodent control measures in the populated urban areas or through under reporting of disease within the region. A limited number of cases and deaths were reported in the mid-1990s including a familial outbreak resulting in 6 infections. Recently, an increase in the number of cases has been reported annually starting in 2006 with a peak of reported cases in 2008.