Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Venezuela's request comes in response to the escalation of aggression and the unprecedented US military deployment in the Caribbean.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Venezuelan government has officially requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli artillery shells the northwest of Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: The ceasefire has come into effect.
Palestinian media: Israeli occupation forces storm Balata camp in the eastern part of the city of Nablus.
Reuters, citing senior US officials: The United States will deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force to ensure stability in Gaza.
Netanyahu's office: Israeli government approves Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: Intense shelling and heavy gunfire reported north of Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: An Israeli airstrike targeted the northern area of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli Broadcasting Authority: During the first 72 hours, aerial surveillance will be suspended in areas from which the Israeli army has withdrawn.

Experts fear Oropouche virus outbreak in Brazil may spread further out

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 3 Aug 2024 15:27
5 Min Read

Experts have cautioned that genetic alterations in Oropouche itself might also be involved.

Listen
  • x
  • Elielson tries to calm down his baby brother Jose Wesley, in Bonito, Pernambuco state, Brazil on Jan. 30, 2016. (AP)
    Elielson tries to calm down his baby brother Jose Wesley, a baby with microcephaly Bonito, Pernambuco state, Brazil on Jan. 30, 2016. (AP)

The Oropouche virus, a poorly understood illness carried by midges and mosquitoes, has been connected to the deaths of two young women, miscarriages, and birth abnormalities in Brazil.

There has been a significant increase in instances reported in the nation this year—7,284—compared to 832 in 2023. Numerous cases have been reported in regions where the virus has never been detected before.

By the end of July, 8,078 cases had been confirmed in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Cuba, and physicians in the area were advised to exercise caution.

Experts cautioned that genetic alterations in Oropouche itself might also be involved and that the climate situation is probably pushing the insects that disperse the virus to new locations.

Brazil's Health Ministry declared on July 25 that two women in the state of Bahia, ages 21 and 24, had died—the first documented deaths in recorded history anywhere in the globe. Each of them experienced abrupt symptoms, such as fever, headaches, and bodily aches, which eventually resulted in lethal bleeding. A 57-year-old man's possible third connected death is being looked into.

Márcia São Pedro, epidemiological surveillance director for Bahia, stated, “This is related, I believe, to the fact that people assume everything is dengue. And because dengue is well known, they hydrate and send the patient home. We need to understand that this is not the case. We are in a different situation now.”

Read next: Health authorities designate Gaza Strip polio epidemic zone

Officials said in June that a pregnant lady lost her baby at 30 weeks of pregnancy, and tests from the organs and umbilical cord showed evidence of the Oropouche virus. An eight-week gestation miscarriage was also connected to the infection.

Antibodies to the Oropouche virus were detected in testing on four newborns who had microcephaly, a disease in which the baby's head is smaller than usual. However, these tests do not conclusively link the virus to the birth defects.

Related News

Chikungunya virus cases double in Singapore amid regional outbreak

WHO declares monkeypox virus no longer global health emergency

Deaths and miscarriages are "things we don't really associate with this virus," according to Alain Kohl, a virology professor at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and specialist in bunyaviruses like Oropouche. He emphasized that there were still many unsolved concerns and that this was just the "early days" of the outbreak.

A 'neglected disease' in research

Felipe Naveca, from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a health research institution linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Health and the co-author of research that found genetic changes in the form of Oropouche, “It has caused outbreaks before, but nothing on the scale of what is happening now.”

However, according to Naveca, serious consequences like death and miscarriage did not always indicate a change in the virus' potency; instead, they might only indicate that "when you have a very high number of cases, some severe cases will inevitably emerge."

He stated that more testing and surveillance may be partially to blame for the rise in numbers and that deforestation and climate change were increasing the likelihood of human-virus-carrying insects coming into contact with people.

Primate and sloth populations are known to harbor the virus, which can infect humans when specific midges and mosquitoes bite them. 

The virus that "has the potential to emerge as a substantial threat" is Oropouche, according to a review that was published in The Lancet in January. The assessment also highlighted the substantial gaps in medical and scientific understanding of Oropouche and called it a "prototypical neglected disease."

First identified in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, Oropouche typically causes flu-like symptoms that continue for around a week. The virus may result in serious side effects including meningitis.

Although the connection between miscarriage and microcephaly has not been shown, Prof. Jonathan Ball, deputy director of LSTM, stated that the virus' ability to migrate to new regions may be.

“Frequent exposure to the virus in endemic areas is likely to generate immunity before females reach child-bearing age, and this immunity would likely protect pregnant women and their unborn baby. However, when the virus is newly introduced this protection isn’t there,” he added.

The Pan American Health Organization recommended that individuals concentrate on prevention since there is no known vaccination or therapy for Oropouche. This entails donning arm and leg coverings, applying icaridin, IR3535, or Deet-containing insect repellents, and installing fine-mesh mosquito nets over windows, doors, and beds. Since midges are smaller than mosquitoes, they cannot be protected from bites by conventional mosquito nets.

University of Oxford's Prof. Sir Andrew Pollard stated the outbreak should be “a wake-up call” and stressed, “If climate continues to change, we should expect spread of the insects which can transmit diseases to humans to increase.”

  • Virus
  • Brazil
  • oropouche
  • mosquito

Most Read

A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump sets record-low refugee cap in new immigration policy shift

  • Politics
  • 4 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Displaced Palestinians watch smoke rise after Israeli military strikes as they gather on the coastal road near Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Thursday, October 9, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli occupation bombs Gaza home, killing 4 and wounding 9

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, right, visit the site of a shooting attack at a bus stop in al-Quds, Monday, September 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ben-Gvir warns will topple Netanyahu’s govt over Hamas

Head of Hamas in Gaza Khalil al-Hayya speaks during an interview with AP, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Deal reached for permanent Gaza ceasefire, end to war: Al-Hayya

Yemeni Ansar Allah leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi during his speech on Thursday, Ocotber 9, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)
Politics

Sayyed al-Houthi: Yemen on alert as Gaza ceasefire takes effect

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS