Brazilian authorities are working to identify a mystery illness that killed a 53-year-old South African man visiting Rio de Janeiro

Rio's state health ministry said the man, whose name was not given, succumbed to a hemmorhagic disease after falling ill on November 25, 2008 two days after arriving in Brazil. He was taken to hospital with fever, vomiting, blood in his urine and rashes. Doctors suspected he had contracted an arenavirus, a group of viruses that includes Lassa fever, an infection endemic to west Africa that typically spreads to humans from proximity to rodents. Dengue, malaria and ebola had all been ruled out, the ministry said. While tests were being carried out, hospital staff who had treated him were being observed to see if they showed any symptoms. Officials said the Pan American Health Organization had been informed of the case and the man's body would be sent back to South Africa in a sealed zinc casket.