An insect-borne virus has emerged in South America and two deaths were reported in two young Brazilian women due to the same. The women had no underlying health conditions. In June and July, Europe saw 19 imported cases of the Oropouche virus, as reported by the European Center for Disease Control. Spain accounted for 12 cases, Italy for five, and Germany for two.
The virus is primarily spread through insect bites, including mosquitoes, and midges and originates from pale-throated sloths, non-human primates, and birds, as per Newsweek. The symptoms include headaches, fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, nausea, vomiting, chills, and light sensitivity, which are similar to dengue fever. In extreme situations, the virus can enter the brain system and cause encephalitis, meningitis, and other potentially lethal neuroinvasive diseases. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that just 4 per cent of patients experience this.
The scientific journal Lancet Infectious Disease stated that the Oropouche outbreak this year has reached an "unprecedented scale."
Currently, there is no vaccine available for the virus, which belongs to the same family of diseases as Zika virus and Dengue fever. According to the Centre for Disease Control, the incubation period for Oropouche virus disease is three to ten days. "Typically, disease starts with the abrupt onset of fever (38-40 degress Celcius) with headache (often severe), chills, myalgia, and arthralgia," they added.
The symptoms of the disease can last up to seven days, however, they can reoccur a few days or even weeks later in about 60 per cent of patients. Further, weakness has been seen in several patients for up to a month following diagnosis.
Since midges are tiny insects that are less affected by typical repellents, common pest control methods like insect repellants and mosquito nets are not usually successful against them. However, chemical pesticides like DEET and deltamethrin work well against these insects.
Outbreaks of the virus have earlier been reported in countries across South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. In 2024, outbreaks were recorded in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and more recently in Cuba. Over 8,000 cases have been reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Cuba since the beginning of this year.
The virus got its name when it was initially discovered in the Trinidad and Tobago town of Oropouche in 1955. Even though there have been almost five lakh cases reported since then, not much is known about the illness.
