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Deadly ‘sloth virus’ outbreak spreads beyond Amazon region to United States
Oropouche virus disease, colloquially dubbed sloth fever, has infected more than 20 people returning to the US from Cuba in recent months. None of them has died, and there doesnt appear to be any evidence that the disease is spreading in the US. However, that hasnt stopped the CDCs Emergency Preparedness and Response website from making various recommendations to healthcare providers regarding the so-called sloth virus.
So far in 2024, just over 8,000 cases of Oropouche have been reported in the Americas which includes South America. The lions share has been in Brazil; two people have died there. If by some twist of fate, Oropouche virus disease takes off it will give the lie to Arturo Casadevalls theory that the next major pandemic will have roots in fungi. Fortunately, that looks unlikely. Heres the state of play.
Protect yourself against Oropouche sloth virus by avoiding biting midges
Because its primary mode of transmission is via midge and mosquito bites, the best way people can protect themselves is to not get bitten. This is easier said than done, in certain parts of the world.
Midges are small and hard to see. Even the largest midges are less than 1/8 inch long. For this reason, some people call them no-see-ums, writes Insect Shield.
Midge bites tend to leave the following tell-tale signs:
- Clusters of red dots
- A small hole where the skin was punctured
- People who are sensitive to insect bites might feel a burning feeling on their skin and can come up in red welts
- In rare cases, painful, itchy blisters filled with fluid can appear.
Reduce your chances of attracting midge bites by:
- Avoiding going outside at dawn and dusk
- Avoiding midge breeding areas like ponds, marshes, and other bodies of still water
- Wearing insect-repellent clothing
- Applying permethrin spray to your gear and clothing
- Applying insect repellent spray to exposed skin.
Culicoides paranesis, the diseases primary vector, is a species of midge found across the northern United States down to Argentina. The Southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) can also transmit it to humans, but has done so to a lesser extent.
Natures article on the disease notes that we cannot rule out the possibility that other vectors might be involved. In other words, it might not just be midges and mosquitoes transmitting it, or that we should be wary of.
Oropouche is endemic to the Amazon and has been around since the 1950s
The virus itself is endemic to the Amazon, but since late 2023 its range has been expanding. The Amazon region is a vast area spanning nine South American countries not just the rainforest itself.
It was discovered in 1955 in Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean. Its first detection in South America was in Brazil in 1960, in a blood sample from a sloth. This is the reason it has earned the moniker sloth fever.
Since then, there have been minor outbreaks among humans. It has been circulating intermittently for decades. This is why you might have read outlets and experts refer to Oropouche virus disease as a re-emerging virus ; its not entirely new.
Symptoms are similar to those of dengue
One of the main differences between Oropouche and dengue and other vector-borne viruses like Zika, yellow fever, and Chikungunya, is that they are transmitted by mosquitoes rather than midges.
However, its symptoms are similar: fever, headache, muscle or joint pain, pain behind the eyes, vomiting, and nausea, according to Nature.
This makes it difficult to diagnose Oropouche from symptoms alone. It is easy to confuse it with diseases caused by other vector-borne viruses. To diagnose with assurance, you need to have a molecular laboratory diagnosis.
The CDC recommends healthcare providers consider Oropouche virus infection in patients who have been in regions beset by it and who present the following symptoms within two weeks:
- Abrupt onset of fever
- Headache
- Myalgia, arthralgia, photophobia, eye pain, or stiff neck, seizures, limb weakness, or cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis
- And NO respiratory symptoms like a cough or shortness of breath people with respiratory symptoms likely do not have Oropouche virus disease
Fortunately, most Oropouche cases are mild and pass after a week. This summer, two people died from it in Brazil. Otherwise, during the 70 years weve known about the virus, no one has died from it.
