Doctors are raising the alarm over an incurable virus that is spreading through popular vacation hotspots.
The oropouche virus, also known as ‘sloth fever’, has been reported in American patients returning from South and Central America and parts of the Caribbean, where it is continuing to spread.
Its most common symptoms are a fever of up to 104F (40C), chills and muscle aches, but it can also cause rashes, eye pain, and brain swelling in more serious cases.
The infection was previously considered to have a ‘very low’ fatality rate, but the deaths of two healthy young women died in Brazil have raised concerns.
The disease is spread by biting midges, but may also be spread by sexual contact. Vacation hotspots such as Barbados have recorded cases of the virus.
In a new report, doctors are warning travelers to these regions to wear long-sleeved clothing or insect repellant to ward off midges.
They are also advising pregnant women not to travel to the areas because the virus has been linked to miscarriages.
The virus is spread by small biting midges. It has been detected in vacation hotspots, including Brazil (Shown above are smiling women on a beach)
The above shows the number of cases diagnosed in the US in 2024 by month. All the cases were related to travel
Once uncommon, cases have surged since an outbreak in the Brazilian Amazon that began in 2022, with the country having recorded 6,300 cases from 2022 to 2024. By August last year, the tally had reached 7,497 cases.
There is no cure, with about 60 to 70 percent of patients experiencing a recurrence of the disease a few days to months after the initial infection.
Oropouche virus is thought to cause recurrent symptoms either because it persists in the body or because the initial infection triggers prolonged inflammation, which can lead to a resurgence of symptoms when the body is under stress.
About 109 cases have been recorded in the US since January 2024, but all of these have been related to travel.
Three patients experienced brain swelling due to the disease, but there have been no fatalities reported in the US.
The doctors wrote in their warning: ‘The Public Health Agency of Canada has recommended that, until more information is known, travelers take precautions to avoid insect bites.
‘And for pregnant people or people planning pregnancy to consider deferring travel to areas experiencing outbreaks.’
They added: ‘Currently, no antiviral drugs or vaccines for treatment or prevention of Oropouche virus disease exist.’
There are no antivirals or cures for the virus, with doctors instead relying on medications to ease symptoms. These include Tylenol, or acetaminophen, to bring down the fever.
Oropouche virus cases are thought to be rising because of deforestation and urbanization, which is providing more wet and humid conditions for the midges that carry the virus to survive.
Climate change is also spurring wetter and warmer conditions, expanding the range of diseased midges and allowing them to be active for longer each year.
The disease gets its ‘sloth fever’ nickname from the fact it first emerged in sloths, although there is no evidence that the virus can pass directly from the animals to humans.
It is thought to get to humans after a midge that bit a sloth, and became infected, then also bites a human. Sloths are major sources of food for the tiny insects.
People catch the virus from midge bites or potentially via sexual contact, after the virus was also detected in the semen of a patient.
Symptoms emerge two to ten days after infection, and then last for two to seven days. Many patients will the experience a recurrence of the disease at a later date.
The map shows the seven states where the disease has been diagnosed. It is most commonly diagnosed in Florida, which is near Cuba — where the disease spreads locally
The disease is typically diagnosed via PCR tests, which can take seven to ten days to complete.
The CDC has also issued warnings over Oropouche virus, writing online that it is an ’emerging virus’ in the Americas.
The warning was revealed in an article written for the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
