ABSTRACT

Argentine hemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a severe viral hemorrhagic syndrome endemic to the agricultural plains of central Argentina. Its incidence is mainly seasonal (Moraz and Kunz, 2011). The clinical symptoms of AHF include hematological, neurological, cardiovascular, renal, and immunological alterations. This emerging disease was rst recognized in 1955, and its etiological agent was characterized and designated Junín virus (JUNV) for the geographical site where it was rst isolated (Parodi et al., 1958, 1959). JUNV is a rodent-borne virus and belongs to the clade B New World (NW) arenavirus within the Arenaviridae family (Salvato et al., 2011).