Bolivia (likely lowland exposure during March 1997 travel)
Laguna Negra hantavirus HPS · Bolivia (exposure during travel through multiple departments) · preliminary historical
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Summary
First documented Laguna Negra–lineage hantavirus pulmonary syndrome attributable to exposure in Bolivia: a 20-year-old Chilean man who backpacked in rural Bolivia between 4 February and 9 March 1997 became ill on 26 March (three weeks after returning to Chile) and died on 28 April from massive pulmonary hemorrhage and shock. Molecular characterization (Espinoza et al., EID 1998) identified the agent as a Laguna Negra virus variant and concluded that exposure occurred in Bolivia. Indigenous Bolivian HPS cases were not formally documented until subsequent outbreaks in Santa Cruz Department starting in 2002.
Why this matters
First evidence that Laguna Negra–lineage hantaviruses circulated in Bolivia and could cause fatal HPS in humans, extending the recognized geographic range of the virus beyond Paraguay. Predated the locally identified Bolivian HPS cases by roughly five years.
Sources
- T1 Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome in a Chilean Patient with Recent Travel in Bolivia Emerging Infectious Diseases (CDC) · 2026-05-07
- T2 Laguna Negra virus associated with HPS in western Paraguay and Bolivia (Johnson et al., 1997) Virology · 2026-05-07