Man, 20, falls sick with ‘mystery never-before-seen illness’ that triggers brain swelling
A NEVER-SEEN-BEFORE virus has infected a 20-year-old in Peru.
The unidentified man, ended up in hospital with typical flu-like symptoms, including a fever, chills and muscle and joint pain.
The construction worker may not have been alarmed initially, but tests soon revealed he had caught a mystery virus, which was described as closely resembling malaria and dengue.
Scientists who discovered the pathogen have warned that the virus is likely spreading in the jungle of central Peru.
The virus belongs to the phlebovirus family, which contains about 70 members, many of them carried by flies, mosquitoes or ticks, and can cause human disease.
Infections trigger a fever, severe headaches, muscle pain and brain swelling meningitis.
Hantavirus, spread by deer mice, comes from the same group, and so does the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.
Rift Valley fever is the most well-known illness that phlebovirus can cause – it mostly affects animals but can also affect humans.
People who develop Rift Valley can develop a life-threatening haemorrhagic fever, which causes bleeding from the mouth, eyes and ears, as well as the internal organs.
According to the report, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the patient arrived at Hospital De La Merced Chanchamayo in central Peru in June 2019.
His symptoms included headaches, tiredness, sensitivity to light and a loss of appetite.
There, medics took a blood sample and sent it away for testing.
Researchers from the US Naval Medical Research Unit in Lima analysed the sample and detected the phlebovirus.
The illness caused by the virus is similar to dengue, malaria and other tropical infections, they said.
However, new parts of the bug “could not be explained by mutation,” suggesting this was a new virus.
The team researching the new virus said their findings suggest an Echarate variant is spreading in the jungles of central Peru.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some types of phlebovirus can cause “unspecific symptoms in humans” and often is misdiagnosed as dengue fever, malaria, or influenza.
However, clinical symptoms can range from high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, and aseptic meningitis to mild or severe meningoencephalitis.
The researchers warned that ongoing surveillance is needed among patients with these symptoms to detect new viruses and protect public health.