Residents in the Barinas state municipalities of Rojas and Sosa report at least five deaths from Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, driven by the Guanarito virus. Community leaders and local health authorities confirm ongoing rural prevention efforts, fumigation, and vaccination campaigns across vulnerable agricultural settlements following delayed diagnoses.
Community Reports Reveal Fatal Toll of Venezuelan Hemorrhagic Fever in Barinas
Residents across rural sectors of the Barinas state are grappling with a severe outbreak of Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF, for its English acronym), or also called de guanarito, a dangerous pathogen driven by the Guanarito virus. Residents of the Simón Bolívar parish, in the Madre Vieja – Limoncito community of the Sosa municipality, Barinas state, request the intervention of health authorities due to the spread of Venezuelan Hemorrhagic Fever, a disease caused by the Guanarito virus.
Juan Benaventa, former councilman and community leader of the Sosa municipality, made the report through a video uploaded to social networks this Sunday, August 23, where he states that the situation affects sectors such as Dolores, Santa Rosa, Cachicamo, Cañadas de Santa Cruz, and Caño el Clavo. Benaventa maintains that entire families acquire the disease, with two or three people affected or deceased per family nucleus, and explains that the infection occurs through the inhalation of dust particles containing secretions from wild rodents during agricultural work or cleaning tasks in rural areas.
As a spokesperson for the affected communities, Benaventa demands the presence of epidemiological teams and the application of a rodent control plan in the Sosa municipality and in areas of the Rojas municipality, in order to prevent the spread of the virus which, without proper treatment, can be fatal. Marieva Fermín
Residents of various sectors of Barinas state reported the death of at least five people in the entity due to Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever (VHF, by its English acronym), or also called guanarito, as reported this Thursday by Radio Fe y Alegría Noticias. Noel Fernández, a resident of the Madre Vieja community, commented that of those sick with this fever, only one has recovered.
Where are the cases of hemorrhagic fever located? According to Fernández, there are cases in the sectors of Dolores, Chorrosco, and Cañaverales. He also said that these are treated at the Libertad hospital and subsequently referred to the Dr. Luis Razetti Hospital of Barinas.
Fatality Rates and Delayed Medical Diagnosis Concerns
Local resident Noel Fernández described a grim recovery rate among those infected by the rural illness. In statements shared across regional media outlets, he highlighted the rarity of successful recoveries and pointed to five recorded deaths in the locality.
Noel Fernández, resident of the Madre Vieja community, stated that they had sick patients who had not recovered, noting that in Madre Vieja, a community located between the Rojas and Sosa municipalities, only one person, a single patient, had recovered, while the rest had resulted in at least five deaths.
Community representatives emphasize that medical detection is frequently delayed because early symptoms mimic dengue hemorrhagic fever. In this sense, he urged the State to issue an alert and commit to monitoring the cases.
Noel Fernández, resident of the Madre Vieja community, pointed out that there was no activity from the state or the health sector to accompany them and inform them if there had been any cases, adding that much more support was needed for that precise diagnosis.
Noel Fernández, resident of the Madre Vieja community, remarked that it was quite a fatal disease compared to Ebola and asked for a helping hand.
Transmission Risks and Sanitization Measures in Rojas and Sosa
The infection spreads primarily through the inhalation of dust particles with secretions from wild rodents during agricultural work or cleaning tasks in rural areas. Former councilman Juan Benaventa urged health ministries to deploy epidemiological teams and institute systematic rodent control protocols across Sosa and Rojas.
The call from the population of the Rojas and Sosa municipalities of Barinas, for sanitary protection against hemorrhagic and yellow fever, is receiving responses with vaccination, bioanalysis, and fumigation personnel for prevention. The Sole Health Authority, Andreína Rodríguez, informed that in the communities of Madre Vieja, La Maporita, Caño Hondo, Vegón de Dolores, among others, there is the presence of health officials to carry out the corresponding tasks of population protection.
Immunization, sample collection, advice to the school component, environmental sanitation, disinfection, screenings, and house-to-house controls were some of the tasks developed in the two municipalities.
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