ProMED-mail |

Published Date: 2012-09-03 12:46:37
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Hantavirus update 2012 - Americas (28): Argentina
Archive Number: 20120903.1278438

HANTAVIRUS UPDATE 2012 - AMERICAS (28): ARGENTINA
*************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Sat 1 Sep 2012
Source: ANB (Agencia de Noticias de Bariloche) [in Spanish, trans. Mod.TY, edited]
http://www.anbariloche.com.ar/noticia.php?nota=30934

The son of the Bariloche fire fighter who died of [a] hantavirus [infection] also contracted the disease and was sent to the General Roca [Medical] Assistance Center.

The 11-year-old child is currently in intensive care and according to physicians is in a "delicate but stable" state. The Diario Rio Negro [newspaper] confirmed that the boy is the son of the fire fighter who died of [a] hantavirus [infection], possibly contracted during cleaning tasks in the [Cerro] Catedral area, where he resided.

The boy is currently interned in the Sanatorio Juan XXIII Hospital in General Roca. Some days ago he presented a clinical picture of fever with respiratory complications, which resulted in his hospital admission. This past Thursday [30 Aug 2012], the diagnosis of [a] hantavirus [infection] was confirmed.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Although the virus involved in the case above is not specified, it is likely to be Andes hantavirus. The previous report (ProMED-mail archive no. 20120811.1239330) mentioned that the firefighter's family members would be monitored. Monitoring family members is prudent, as Andes virus is the only hantavirus shown to be capable of person-to-person transmission among people in very close contact, usually family members. The report above does not indicate the source of the boy's infection.

An image of the long-tailed pygmy rice rat (_Oligoryzomys longicaudatus_), the sigmodontine rodent host of Andes hantavirus, can be seen at http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/512x768/0000_0000/0711/1260.jpeg.

A HealthMap/ProMED interactive map showing the location of Bariloche can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/3h8K. - Mod.TY]

See Also