Oropauche virus disease, a Zika-like illness spreading in the Americas, has been detected in Europe for the first time, infecting people in Spain, Italy and Germany.
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating whether the bacteria could cause adverse outcomes during pregnancy similar to those associated with the Zika virus.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 19 cases of Oropouche virus disease were detected in Europe in June and July among travellers returning from Cuba and Brazil. The disease is transmitted to humans by biting midges and mosquitoes.
“The outlook for recovery is good and fatal outcomes are extremely rare,” the agency said in a risk assessment published on August 9.
RELATED: WHO may declare new deadly MPOX epidemic an international emergency
The Oropouche virus can cause symptoms similar to Zika, including sudden fever, muscle pain, sensitivity to light, sore eyes, vomiting, and a rash. In about 4% of cases, the virus infects the nervous system, causing inflammation around the spinal cord and brain, or in the brain itself. Most people recover within a few days to a month, though.
But several cases have been reported recently in Brazil where investigators suspect the virus was transmitted from mothers to their babies during pregnancy, and those infections have been tentatively linked to poor outcomes, including miscarriages and microcephaly, a condition in which babies have heads that are much smaller than average.
However, due to limitations in the data, the association between poor pregnancy outcomes and Oropauche virus has not yet been confirmed. The US CDC and the Pan American Health Organization are currently investigating the potential risk.
The Oropouche virus was first detected in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955 and has since caused outbreaks in various countries in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. So far this year, outbreaks have been reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, with the first cases reported in Cuba.
There has been no documented case of the virus being transmitted directly from person to person. Instead, the disease is most often transmitted by a type of midge called Culicoides paraensis. In addition, several species of mosquitoes can carry and transmit the virus to humans.
The chironomids that spread the disease are not native to Europe and “so far there is a lack of evidence as to whether European chironomids and mosquitoes can transmit the virus,” the ECDC said in its risk assessment. This lack of evidence, combined with the fact that the virus does not spread from person to person, makes it very unlikely that people in Europe can catch the disease locally.
However, the risk of contracting the disease abroad is “medium,” and ECDC recommends that people travelling to places where Oropouché virus is prevalent take precautions. Safety measures include using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers when going out. People should also consider using insecticide-treated mosquito nets in rooms that do not have adequate screens or air conditioning. There is no vaccine for Oropouché virus.
While the risk of infection with the Oropouche virus during pregnancy is not yet clear, the Zika virus, which carries a clear risk when contracted during pregnancy, is circulating in the same geographic areas, so the same safety measures apply to prevent both infections, according to the ECDC.
Some headlines have referred to Oropouche virus as the “sloth virus” or “sloth fever” because the sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) may be an important animal host for the virus, and insects transmit the virus from sloths to humans and vice versa.
However, the primary animal host of Oropouche virus remains to be identified: other possible hosts include a variety of wild birds and primates such as capuchin monkeys (Cebus) and howler monkeys (Alouatta).
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
Have you ever wondered why some people build muscle more easily than others, or why freckles appear in the sun? Send your questions about how the human body works to [email protected] with the subject line “Health Desk Q.” You might find the answer to your question on the website.
