Chapare virus causes hemorrhagic fever and is a member of the arenavirus

Arenavirus

Arenavirus is a genus of virus that infects rodents and occasionally humans. At least eight Arenaviruses are known to cause human disease. The diseases derived from Arenaviruses range in severity. Aseptic meningitis, a severe human disease that causes inflammation covering the brain and spinal...

 family of viruses. The only known outbreak of Chapare virus infection occurred in the village of Samuzabeti, Chapare Province

Chapare Province

Chapare, also called The Chapare and is pronounced Cha-pa-reh, is a rural province in the northern region of Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. The majority of the territory consists of valley rainforests that surround the area's main waterway, the Chapare River, which is also a tributary of...

, Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

, in January 2003. A small number of people were infected. One person died. The specific transmission vector is not known, but is suspected to be a rodent, in keeping with other members of the arenavirus family, which includes the Lassa virus.

Background

In December 2003, an outbreak of a hemorrhagic fever occurred near Cochabamba, Bolivia.