The Ministry of Health in Chile has declared a public health alert Monday because of a hantavirus outbreak which has killed three people and infected at least 10 others.
The outbreak primarily affects the El Manzano prison where two inmates died. The third fatality was an individual who was camping outside Concepcion.
Although the outbreak is mostly restricted to the prison, the alert is in force for the entire Bio Bio region, some 500 kilometers (311 miles) south of Santiago
According to an AP report, Health Minister Jaime Manalich said wildfires in the southern Bio Bio and Araucania regions have driven rats from their normal habitat into places where people live. Manalich said that he fears this may be just the leading edge of a much wider problem.
People contract Hantavirus, which causes the disease Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), when they come into contact with infected rodents or their urine and droppings and breathe in the aerosols. It is not transmitted person-to-person.
Early symptoms of HPS include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups-thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders.
Later symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath as the lungs fill with fluid. HPS is a potentially fatal disease. There is no specific treatment for Hantavirus.
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