First cases of Oropouche fever registered in Europe

10:15, 16 августа 2024, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Maria ORLOVA

The first cases of Oropouche fever have been registered in Italy and Spain. Izvestia media outlet reported, citing the scientific journal The Lancet.

Two travelers, who returned from Cuba, were reportedly among the first Europeans who got infected. Thus, as of August 1, at least 8,078 confirmed cases of the fever were registered in the region, including in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, as well as in Cuba.

The Lancet suggested that the cause of the outbreak of the virus in Latin America could be its mutation. The journal emphasized that further spread of the fever could undermine the «already overburdened healthcare system in the region.»

The main symptoms of the disease are fever, rash, headache, muscle and joint pain. Sometimes patients complain of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, photosensitivity.

• Oropouche fever is a tropical viral infection first identified in 1960 in the blood of a sloth in Brazil. The disease was named after the Oropouche River in Trinidad and Tobago, where the virus was isolated.

Rospotrebnadzor previously ruled out the risk of Oropouche fever spreading in Russia. The agency emphasized that mosquitoes that carry the disease are not common in the Russian Federation.