Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever

Guanarito virus

Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a zoonotic human illness, first identified in 1989, causing fever and malaise followed by hemorrhagic manifestations and convulsions. It is fatal in 30% of cases. The disease is endemic to Portuguesa state and Barinas state in Venezuela. The causal agent, Guanarito virus, is spread to humans through contact with the excreta of two rodent species: the short-tailed cane mouse (Zygodontomys brevicauda), and the cotton rat (Sigmodon alstoni). Human-to-human transmission of the virus has not been observed.

Guanarito virus is a member of the Arenavirus genus of negative single-stranded RNA viruses, and is closely related to a number of other rodent-borne emerging viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever in South America.