The Telegraph: 19 cases of Oropouche fever recorded in Europe
Oropouche fever, for which there is no vaccine, has reached Europe. About this reports The Telegraph, citing data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Over the past two months, 19 cases of the potentially deadly new virus have been reported in Europe. Twelve cases have been reported in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany. The virus has emerged in Latin America. So far, most cases have been reported in Brazil, but the virus has also begun to spread to Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Cuba.
The main symptoms of the disease are fever, rash, headache, muscle and joint pain. Sometimes patients complain of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, as well as photosensitivity.
The first person infected from Europe was a 26-year-old Italian woman who returned to Verona in late May after a two-week trip to Cuba. She complained of fever and diarrhea. The second was a 45-year-old Italian man who returned from Cuba in early June. Both have fully recovered. However, experts say the fever is cause for concern.
We should definitely start worrying. Things are changing, and soon the virus may be unstoppable. We don’t know enough about Oropouche yet to know what surprises it might bring. But two deaths out of a relatively small number of infections is quite alarming.
Concetta Castiglietti, head of the virology and emerging pathogens department at a hospital near Verona, said global warming and the increase in travel could mean that cases of various tropical fevers, previously seen mainly in Latin America or Africa, will become commonplace in Europe.
It is known that the virus appeared in the body of sloths and is spread through the bites of insects: midges and mosquitoes. Oropouche fever belongs to the same family of diseases as the Zika virus and dengue fever. Both diseases can potentially lead to death.
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At the end of July, the world’s first victims of Oropouche fever were reported. They were two Brazilian women under 30.
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