The Bolivia Ministry of Health reported this week that 13 military personnel were infected with hantavirus in the military camps of the Joint Task Force of the Yungas, including one death and two cases requiring intensive care.

Image/Robert Herriman
Image/Robert Herriman

This has prompted health officials to send a team to the region. “In the three points of Inca Huara, Siguana Chico and Puerto Aroma of the municipality of La Asunta, 15 doctors, laboratory personnel, biologists, technical personnel, experts in zoonoses, rodents handling will take samples and verify of specimens of captured rodents,” officials said.

National Chief of Epidemiology, Vicente González Aramayo also noted that experts will perform analyzes of environments, food, water, among others.

“The medical staff will focus on the clinical review or ‘triage’ of the personnel who were exposed to the virus and have some relationship with the first positive case, in order to determine the possible source of infection,” he added.


“We have declared quarantine in three Departments of Joint Task, therefore we have suspended the eradication work until the Ministry of Health guarantees the adequate conditions to continue with the work,” he said.

At the national level there are 34 cases of hantavirus: 2 were reported in the department of Cochabamba, 10 cases in Santa Cruz, 9 in Tarija and 13 cases in the Yungas region of the department of La Paz.