Rodents might be behind mysterious South African disease

Johannesburg October 13: The mysterious disease in South Africa that bleeds its victims to death, is suspected to be carried by rodents, as per the health department in the country.

Already claiming three lives and subjecting many to the isolation wards, the disease causes the patient to bleed internally as well as externally, finally leading to his or her death.

Suspected to be highly contagious, people contacting the disease are being put in isolation wards. The main reason behind this is the death of both the nurse as well as the paramedic accompanying the first sufferer of this deadly disease, who was flown in from Zambia. All three died due to heavy external as well as internal bleeding.

Blood samples from the victims were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, last week by the health department.

While researchers are struggling to narrow down the exact cause of the disease, Lucille Blumberg of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases suspects the rodent borne arena virus, to be the causative agent. Arena virus is known to cause hemorrhagic fever in rodents and thus the connection. This virus was also related to the Lassa fever virus of West Africa.

Rodents like rats, mice, bats etc are known to cause a number of diseases in human beings, like Weil’s syndrome, plaque, bubonic plaque, Lassa fever, among others. These diseases which can be both viral and bacterial in nature are usually transmitted through rodent excreta, salivadefine, rodent bite or even contact. Eating food contaminated by rodents, being bitten by rodent fleas and ticks and even breathing air contaminated by a dead infected rodent, may cause the deadly diseases.

It is often difficult to detect rodent borne diseases in their earlier stages as their symptoms often get confused with those of other diseases. As a result by the time they are actually detected or identified they will usually have taken an epidemic form.

The South African health department is not commenting on the findings yet and it remains to be seen what has caused the three mysterious deaths and the isolated hospitalization of many.