NBC News
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an epidemiological alert in response to the increase in cases of the Oropouche virus in Latin America, a little-known disease transmitted by mosquitoes and gnats.
The alert came Friday after PAHO, the main international health agency for the hemisphere, reported the first deaths associated with the virus, including fetal deaths associated with “possible cases of vertical transmission,” in which a virus is transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy.
In the Americas, there have been reports At least 8,078 confirmed cases of Oropoucheincluding two deaths. The cases are concentrated in Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Brazil, the country with the most confirmed cases and where the two deaths have been reported.
Two young Brazilian women, aged 21 and 24, are believed to have died from the virus. According to PAHO, both died a few days after first experiencing sudden symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, pain behind the eye sockets, headaches and vomiting, among others. A third case is being investigated in Brazil as a possible third death from Oropouche.
According to PAHO, at least 7,284 cases have been confirmed in Brazil. This represents 90% of all confirmed cases of Oropouche in the Americas and a significant increase from the 832 cases reported by Brazil last year.
Among other fatal cases still being investigated in Brazil, there are a case of fetal deathone miscarriage and four cases of newborns with microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby’s head is smaller than expected. Microcephaly is also associated with the Zika virus, another mosquito-borne disease.
A mother in Brazil who experienced symptoms consistent with Oropouche sought medical attention on June 6 after noticing a lack of fetal movement, PAHO reported. After the fetus was confirmed dead, Oropouche genetic material was detected in the umbilical cord blood and organ tissue. A similar case was reported shortly afterward, in which a mother miscarried after experiencing hemorrhagic symptoms related to the virus. Brazilian health authorities, who were conducting a study on four newborns with microcephaly, discovered that the babies already had antibodies against the Oropouche virus.
Based on these cases, PAHO had previously issued an alert on July 17 “on possible cases of transmission of the Oropouche virus from a pregnant mother to her child,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stressed that it is still “not clear whether infection with the Oropouche virus was the cause of the adverse health outcomes in the fetuses.”
The CDC said it is working with PAHO and other international partners. to learn more about the potential risks of Oropouche during pregnancy.
There are no vaccines or specific antiviral medications to prevent or treat Oropouche infections. Treatment focuses on alleviating patients’ symptoms, according to PAHO.
Symptoms of the virus are similar to those of dengue fever, according to the CDC. They include headaches, fever, muscle aches, joint stiffness, nausea, vomiting, chills and sensitivity to light. In severe cases, the virus can also cause inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
In some patients, symptoms may also include rashes, vomiting and bleedingusually in the form of nosebleeds, bleeding gums or blood spots under the skin, according to PAHO.
Symptoms usually appear four to eight days after the bite. Although symptoms usually last three to six days, the infection can last up to three weeks.
