Mystery Mountain Virus Isolates Andean Village
A mystery killer virus that has nestled in a remote Andean mountain village has doctors at a loss and local residents feeling like social outcasts.
The virus, which so far has neither name nor cure, has claimed four victims since January in El Bolson, a village wedged in a wooded valley, 1,100 miles south of Buenos Aires.
Residents fear the picturesque village, a refuge for aging hippies and renowned for its leisurely lifestyle, nature trails and homemade jams, will be starved of vital tourism revenue.
Public health officials, who believe the virus is carried by rodents, say it could be a strain of the hantavirus that struck the southwestern United States two years ago.
“It can kill within 24 hours,” said Dr. Ana Briggiler, who is studying the virus at a health ministry laboratory in Buenos Aires.
“It has flu-like symptoms similar to the hantavirus detected in the United States except patients have serious breathing problems in the final stage of the illness,” she said.
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