Bolivian Haemorrhagic Fever (Machupo), more commonly known as Black Typhus, was first identified in 1959. BHF is a zoonotic infectious disease occurring in Bolivia. It is caused by infection with Machupo virus, a negative single-stranded RNA virus of the Arenaviridae family. The infection has a slow onset with fever, malaise, headache and muscular pains. Petechiae (blood spots) on the upper body and bleeding from the nose and gums are observed when the disease progresses to the hemorrhagic phase, usually within seven days of onset. The mortality rate is estimated at 5-30%. Due to its pathogenicity, Machupo virus requires biosafety level 4 conditions (the highest level of biosafety). Zoonosis is any infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals, both wild and domestic, to humans. ... The Republic of Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America. ... Arenavirus is a genus of virus. ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). ... Fever is also the name of an album by Kylie Minogue. ... Malaise is a term used to refer to a general state of discomfort, tiredness, or illness. ... A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... Petechiae are pinpoint-sized hemorrhages of small capillaries in the skin or mucous membranes. ... Human nose Anatomically, a nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which admit and expel air for respiration. ... Hemorrhage (alternate spelling is Haemorrhage) is the medical term meaning bleeding. ...

The reservoir is the vesper mouse (Calomys callosus), a rodent indigenous to northern Bolivia. Infected animals are asymptomatic and shed virus in excretions, by which humans are infected. Evidence of person-to-person transmission of Machupo virus exists but is believed to be rare (Kilgore et al, 1995).

Measures to reduce contact between the vespers mouse and humans have effectively limited the number of outbreaks, with no cases identified between 1973 and 1994. A vaccine being developed for the genetically related Junin virus which causes Argentine haemorrhagic fever has shown evidence of cross-reactivity with Machupo virus and may be an effective prophylactic measure for people at high risk of infection.

References

Kilgore, Paul E., Peters, Clarence J., Mills, James N., Rollin, Pierre E., Armstrong, Lori, Khan, Ali S. and Ksiazek, Thomas G. (1995). Prospects for control of Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever. Emerging Infectious Diseases 1(3).