Though not for hypochondriacs, Infection Landscapes offers wonderful introductions to various unpleasant ailments. This week the subject is American Hemorrhagic Fevers. Excerpt:
This week we cover the American hemorrhagic fevers, which are a group of hemorrhagic fevers occurring primarily in different parts of South America. These are all caused by arenaviruses and will constitute the final installment of the extended series on hemorrhagic fevers.
The Pathogen. We are going to focus on the four major American hemorrhagic fevers (AHF): Bolivian hemorrhagic fever (BoHF), Argentinian hemorrhagic fever (ArHF), Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF), and Brazilian hemorrhagic fever (BrHF).
BoHF is caused by Machupo virus, ArHF is caused by Junin virus, VHF is caused by Guanarito virus, and BrHF is caused by Sabia virus. All of these viruses are members of the Tacaribe (New World) serocomplex in the Arenaviridae family.Beyond this point, there will be blood.
