An unknown virus infected a 20-year-old man in the Chanchamayo region, in the Andean forests of Peru about 20 km from Lima. He had to be hospitalized due to the symptoms he presented: fever, photophobia, chills, generalized body pain, swelling and pain in the head, and meningitis.
As his symptoms were similar to dengue fever and malaria, common illnesses in the region, he went to the hospital just two days after he started feeling unwell. It is not known how the boy, who is a construction worker, became infected with the unknown virus, but he improved a week later.
The case occurred in June 2019, but it was only revealed in October 2023 in a report published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The story gained international repercussion this week, after being the subject of viral posts on X, formerly Twitter.
Brazil appears among the countries that have cousins of the unknown virus identified
The origin of the unknown virus
Doctors were intrigued by the boy’s test results. They identified that the cause of the disease was a previously unknown variant of phlebovirus. In general, they are transmitted by mosquito and tick bites.
The team identified the new virus as a cousin of Echarate, from the phlebovirus family, which circulates in Brazil. Infectious disease experts said their findings suggest viruses are gaining variants in the jungles of central Peru.
The article recommends “continuous biosurveillance” to monitor its spread. The research, however, does not endorse pandemic risks, as previous forms of the Echarate virus are known in the region.
One of the best-known diseases that phleboviruses can cause is Rift Valley fever, which attacks animals and humans. In its hemorrhagic form, this fever causes internal bleeding and can even kill.
