BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's Health Ministry on Sunday reported five people have died from Western Equine Encephalitis virus amid 39 cases of infection registered in five of the South American country's 24 provinces.

Cases have been concentrated mainly in the central region of the country, with 38 of the 39 infections registered in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Cordoba, and one case in the northern province of Santiago del Estero.

All of the cases required hospitalization and patients were on average 55 years old, with the oldest aged 81 and the youngest aged nine months, the ministry said.

The virus is transmitted mainly in rural areas through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

In humans, most cases are asymptomatic or present mild symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle pain and general malaise.