Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever

Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, also known as black typhus or Ordog fever, is a hemorrhagic fever and zoonotic disease found in Bolivia, caused by infection with the Machupo virus, which is spread mainly by the large vesper mouse. It was first recognized in 1959 during an outbreak near the city of San Joaquin in Bolivia's Beni district, and its symptoms include fever, malaise and bleeding, sometimes leading to death, with a mortality rate estimated around 20 percent that reached as high as 41 percent in early outbreaks. The most recent outbreak on record occurred in February 2008, when more than 200 suspected cases were reported.