A virus spread by bugs has sickened over 20 individuals traveling back to the United States from Cuba in recent months, according to a report released by federal health officials on Tuesday. They all suffered from sloth fever, a condition caused by the Oropouche virus.
There is no proof that it is spreading throughout the US and no one has died from it. However, authorities are alerting American physicians to watch out for the infection among visitors from South America and Cuba.
Oropouche virus: what is it?
The virus known as Orophouche is indigenous to tropical forests. It was called after a local village and wetlands when it was initially discovered in 1955 in a 24-year-old forest worker on the island of Trinidad.
The reason it’s commonly referred to as “sloth fever” is that when researchers initially discovered the virus in a three-toed sloth, they assumed sloths played a significant role in its propagation from insects to other animals.
How is the Oropouche virus transmitted?
Humans contract the virus via some kinds of mosquitoes and from tiny biting flies known as midges. Although person-to-person transmission of the virus has not been reported, humans are thought to have contributed to its spread to towns and cities by becoming infected when visiting forested regions.
What are the signs and how are they treated?
The symptoms of dengue, Zika, and malaria, among other tropical diseases, may resemble each other. Common symptoms include fever, headaches, and muscle aches. Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and rash are also experienced by some infected individuals.
One in twenty patients may get more serious symptoms such as bleeding, meningitis, or encephalitis, while other patients experience recurrent symptoms. Although there have been recent cases of deaths in Brazil involving two healthy young people, it is rarely lethal.
