Oropouche Virus Continues Spreading

While Chikungunya and Dengue virus outbreaks reached records in the Region of the Americas in 2024, a little-known virus with similar symptoms has been spreading, causing complications in diagnosis.

Oropouche virus, primarily transmitted through bites from infected midges, has expanded its range over the past year, reaching Central America and the Caribbean.

Research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases in December 2024 estimates that up to 5 million people in the Americas are at risk of exposure to the virus.

To confuse a diagnosis, Oropouche infections can appear clinically similar to Chikungunya, Dengue, Malaria, and Zika. A reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction test is only administered after a negative dengue result.

Still, once confirmed, no treatment or preventive vaccine for Oropouche is available as of January 2025.

To alert international travelers to this health risk, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Advisory on December 18, 2024. The CDC lists nine countries that have reported Oropouche cases.

And in Brazil, the CDC issued a Level 2 Advisory for Espírito Santo.

In Florida, about 103 international travelers have been diagnosed with this infection.

Symptoms of Oropouche infection include headache, fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, nausea, vomiting, chills, or sensitivity to light. Severe cases may result in neuroinvasive diseases such as meningitis.

Furthermore, the CDC says the Oropouche virus has been found in semen and may spread through sex.