Bolivia's government is cautioning residents against the spread of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, also known as black typhus, after two deaths from the disease.
Health ministry officials say an infected farmer died in April in a town about 160 kilometers northeast of the main city, La Paz. A doctor who treated the man also died in June.
Bolivian hemorrhagic fever is transmitted through the feces and urine of rats, which can carry the virus that causes the infection. It is also transmitted between people through blood and other means.
Bolivia previously saw five people die during an outbreak in 1996.
Large numbers of rats were found in the area around the farm of the first victim. His family also showed symptoms of the disease at one time.
The Bolivian government has sent experts to the town to investigate the infection route.
NHK
