Oropouche fever A93.0

Oropouchevirus, family Bunyaviridae, representative of the Simbu serogroup.

Transmission from human to human by the vectors Culex mosquitoes and Culicoides mosquitoes. Possible virus reservoirs are sloths, monkeys and birds.

Occurrence: Northern Brazil (cocoa cultivation), Southern Caribbean (Trinidad), Panama. The average duration of epidemics is approx. 6 months. The virus is now also spreading to other regions. Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Cuba have reported outbreaks in 2024. The first outbreak was described in 1950.

In the EU, cases have been observed in Italy and Germany. The cases observed in Germany were independently in Cuba at the end of June and beginning of July, where they were infected with the Oropouche virus. As with the Oropouche cases in Italy, these were also travel-associated infections. Both people developed fever, headache, muscle, joint and limb pain during their stay in Cuba. In addition, one of the two persons developed a stem-accentuated macular exanthema.

Incubation period: 4-8 days. Symptoms are similar to other febrile viral diseases such as dengue fever. Typical symptoms are acute onset of fever, chills, aching limbs, joints and headache. More rarely, nausea, vomiting, aseptic meningitis or a maculo-papular skin rash are also possible.

In the majority of cases, Oropouche fever is self-limiting and subsides within 3 to 5 days. However, longer courses are also possible with recovery only after several weeks.

A clinical diagnosis is difficult due to non-specific symptoms.

The virus or antibodies are usually detected by a blood test in the laboratory.

To avoid infection, measures to protect against insects should be observed. Consistent mosquito protection is generally advisable, as a large number of tropical diseases such as dengue and malaria are transmitted by mosquito bites. It should be noted that conventional mosquito nets do not protect against midges, as these are smaller than mosquitoes.

There are indications that an oropouche infection during pregnancy can lead to malformations in the unborn child and to pregnancy complications including miscarriages. Further investigations are currently underway. Pregnant women should critically weigh up the need to travel.

1. Guagliardo SAJ et alk. (2024) Reemergence of Oropouche Virus in the Americas and Risk for Spread in the United States and Its Territories. Emerg Infect Dis 30:2241-2249.
2. Romero-Alvarez D et al. (2ß18) Oropouche fever, an emergent disease from the Americas. Microbes Infect 20:135-146.
3. Zhang Y et al. (2024) Oropouche virus: A neglected global arboviral threat. Virus Res 341:199318.