Brazil has reported the first-ever deaths from Oropouche Virus, a relatively unknown illness with no specific vaccines or medications for prevention and treatment.

Two women in Bahia, a northeastern Brazilian state, have died of forest Oropuche virus, which has already infected 7,236 people this year in Brazil, the country's health ministry reported last week. The Oropouche virus primarily spreads to people through the bite of infected midges, though some mosquitoes can also transmit the virus.

According to reports, both the victims were under 30 years old, with no history of comorbidities, but had developed symptoms similar to dengue, another mosquito-borne illness.

The Oropouche virus was first identified in a Caribbean forest worker in 1955. Since then, many countries in the Amazon region, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, and Peru, have reported cases of infection. Currently, there is no evidence of disease transmission in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Know Signs and Complications:

The symptoms typically start abruptly with severe fever, headache, fatigue, and muscular and joint pain within a week after being bitten by the infected midges or mosquito. These symptoms can last a week and may return after a few days or weeks.

The patients with mild illness recover within days or weeks. However, more serious cases (up to 4% of cases) develop neurologic symptoms. Patients may develop neuroinvasive diseases such as meningitis (inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), or experience bleeding. Since the symptoms of the Oropouche disease are similar to those of dengue, chikungunya, Zika, or malaria, it can be often misdiagnosed.

Treatment:

For those with mild Oropouche infection, supportive care that typically includes rest, plenty of fluids, and the use of analgesics and antipyretics is recommended. In case of severe symptoms, patients require hospitalization for close observation and more intensive supportive treatment.

Prevention tips:

Since there are no effective vaccinations and drugs for Oropouche, the best way to protect from the infection is to prevent bites from midges and mosquitoes. Like all vector-borne viral infections, effective strategies for vector control can also reduce disease transmission.

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