BRAZIL has recorded the world’s first Oropouche virus deaths, with two young women dying of the illness.
The women aged 21 and 24 from the Bahia state in the northeast of the country, had no underlying health issues, according to a pre-print study which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
They each developed symptoms “remarkably similar to a severe dengue fever”, which included a fever, headache, and body aches.
Four days after first showing symptoms, the 21-year-old victim started bleeding from her nose, vagina, and gums. Two days later she died, after being admitted to hospital.
The 24-year-old, who died from cardiac arrest just hours after she was admitted to hospital, had twice sought help from health facilities but had been discharged both times.
Infections are starting to pop up far from the Amazon rainforest, where the Oropouche virus is endemic.
Experts fear the virus, which is transmitted to humans primarily through Aedes mosquitos from sloths, has the potential to be the cause of the next big outbreak in South America.
A surge in cases has been recorded in Brazil this year – 7,284, up from 832 in 2023.
Many have been recorded in areas that have not previously seen the virus.
Outbreaks have also been reported in neighbouring Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru.
Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago have also recorded cases.
Cuba – which is other side of the Caribbean Sea – reported its first outbreak in May.
In June officials reported a pregnant woman lost her baby at 30 weeks, with the Oropouche virus detected in the umbilical cord and organs.
A miscarriage at eight weeks’ gestation was also linked to the virus.
Deforestation of the Amazon is behind the spread in cases, according to a paper in the Lancet Regional Health.
Increased urbanisation of the rainforest and climate change are also likely making it worse, they added.
Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, of the University of Oxford, told the Guardian the outbreak should be “a wake-up call”.
“If the climate continues to change, we should expect a spread of the insects which can transmit diseases to humans to increase,” he added.
Danny Altmann, a Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, previously that “we should all be worried” about diseases like Oropouche extending their reach.
He warned they could become common in many parts of the USA and Southern Europe within the coming decades.
“Oropouche is certainly a worry for its uncertainty and, for all those worried about global health, it just feels like climate change is adding to the healthcare burden in a very palpable way, season by season,” he said.
Mosquitos which carry several tropical diseases, including dengue, zika and chikungunya have already been spotted in 18 EU countries.
Until recently, these diseases were only typically present in parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas – where the bugs were established.
The bugs have become a growing threat to Europe over the past two decades as warmer temperatures have allowed the blood-sucking nat to thrive, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Oropouche fever is a disease caused by Oropouche virus
It is spread through the bites of infected midges (small flies) and mosquitoes.
Symptoms of Oropouche fever are similar to dengue and include headache, fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, nausea, vomiting, chills, or sensitivity to light.
Severe cases may result in brain diseases such as meningitis.
Symptoms typically start 4–8 days after being bitten and last 3–6 days.
Most people recover without long-term effects.
There are no specific medications or vaccines are available.
Precautions
Travellers heading to affected areas should take steps to avoid bug bites.
The virus is endemic in many South American countries, in both rural and urban communities.
Outbreaks are periodically reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Wear tops with long sleeves and long trousers, apply insect repellent regularly, and sleep under a mosquito net if you are not in enclosed, air-conditioned accommodation.
Source: US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
