Mysterious virus that 'can't be explained by mutation' infects man, 20, in Peru

04 December 2023 , 13:54

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The pathogen was thought to have emerged from the Peruvian jungles (Image: Getty Images)

A never-before-seen virus variant that is thought to have emerged deep from a South American jungle has infected a young man in Peru.

The unidentified patient went to hospital with not overly unusual symptoms - including a fever, chills and muscle and joint pain. The construction worker may not have been alarmed at first, but scientists took a sample of his blood and discovered the infectious pathogen - a type of phlebovirus.

Pathogens in this family can be spread by sand flies, mosquitoes or ticks. Infections can lead to high fevers, severe headaches, and meningitis. But the most well-known illness that phlebovirus can trigger is Rift Valley fever. This mostly affects animals but can hit some humans, and its worst effects can include severe haemorrhagic fever that can be lethal.

This infection is thought to circulate in jungles in central Peru. Until now, only three phleboviruses that cause a fever had been detected in Peru. The new virus variant was found in Chanchamayo, Peru. The patient went to Hospital De La Merced Chanchamayo in central Peru in June 2019 with a two-day history of "fever, malaise, chills, systemic muscle pain, arthralgias, generalised head pain, drowsiness, photophobia, retro-ocular pain, and anorexia. He had conjunctival injection and an axillary temperature of 39.0°C", the journal said.

There, medics took a blood sample and sent it away for testing. It was only then, after researchers analysed it, that they found the Candiru phlebovirus. However, parts of the virus "could not be explained by mutation" suggesting this was a new virus, the outlet claimed. The team researching the new virus suggested it could be created from the Echarate virus with a "yet-unidentified phlebovirus".

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

According to the US' Center 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". But "clinical symptoms can range from high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, and aseptic meningitis to mild or severe meningoencephalitis".

The researchers have also called on health chiefs to up public surveillance on the virus. In their paper, published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal they said: "Therefore, continuous public health surveillance, including genome characterization as a complementary tool, is critical to identifying novel and emerging viruses of clinical relevance in the Americas. We report the identification and characterization of a novel ECHV virus variant isolated from a patient with acute febrile illness (AFI) in Peru."

Kieren Williams