The number of hantavirus cases in Capiatá in Paraguay’s Central Department has risen to five, according to a Hoy news report (computer translated).
All the cases are reported in children between 2 and 7 years old.
The first case confirmed by a private laboratory continues to be hospitalized in intensive care and the rest presented improvement and already receive outpatient treatment, confirmed Dr. Sandra Irala of Health Surveillance.
Irala pointed out that the cases that are initially positive should have a cross-section of studies for final confirmation, so the samples were sent to Argentina where there is a reference laboratory for the detection of this type of virus.
The person acquires the virus by inhaling the air contaminated with the virus that is transported through dust particles, which is why it is recommended before cleaning, especially of tanks, first, open doors and windows to ventilate the environment and then moisten the soil to then proceed with the sweep.
The possibility of acquiring the hantavirus is if you have a history of having visited the Chaco area or if you were in a country that registers outbreaks of hantavirus such as southern Argentina.
The disease has a 30% mortality rate and in Paraguay about 20 cases are registered each year, all in the Chaco.
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