{"id":91749,"date":"2024-11-20T16:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T00:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=91749"},"modified":"2024-11-20T13:13:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T21:13:46","slug":"oropouche-virus-a-growing-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/prophecy\/oropouche-virus-a-growing-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Oropouche virus: A growing threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBiting midge<\/em>
\n(USDA Photo)<\/em><\/p>\n

COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

NPR<\/em>\u00a0reported:<\/p>\n

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It’s a virus you may not have heard of. Here’s why scientists are worried about it<\/h2>\n

November 20, 2024<\/p>\n

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A little-known virus is getting a lot of attention this year. It’s called Oropouche, and it’s been making headlines because of a notable increase in diagnoses.<\/p>\n

So far in 2024 there have been over 10,000 cases, mainly in South America and the Caribbean. The vast majority are in Brazil. By contrast, the total Oropouche count in Brazil recorded between 2015 and 2022 was 261.<\/p>\n

In August, PAHO, the Pan American Health Organization, issued an\u00a0epidemiological alert<\/a> urging for increased prevention, surveillance and diagnosis of the viral infection, which is spread by the bite of a mosquito or a midge (a kind of fly that bites humans). …<\/p>\n

Now there’s a new concern. A study published in the CDC’s journal,\u00a0Emerging Infectious Disease<\/em><\/a> in October reports that sexual contact might be a way to transmit the virus. …<\/p>\n

The midge connection<\/h3>\n

The virus was first identified in 1955 and named for the village in Trinidad where it was found. The pronounciation: “o-ro-push<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Oropouche is harbored in birds, monkeys, rodents and sloths. …<\/p>\n

The fact that midges spread it is a serious issue. “Biting midges are known as ‘no-see-ums,’ ” says\u00a0Dr. Chris Braden<\/a>, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. “They’re so small they can actually fly through standard window screens.”\u00a0 …<\/p>\n

And what happens if you get a bite and catch the virus? Symptoms of Oropouche infection are typical of many viruses and usually last a week: fever, rash, muscle aches, headache. But some cases can be more severe, causing encephalitis and meningitis \u2014inflammation of the brain and its surrounding membrane that can cause it to swell. And as with Zika, a mother can transmit the virus to the fetus during pregnancy \u2014 which can lead to birth defects and even fetal death. …<\/p>\n

Sexual transmission<\/h3>\n

And now there’s the new evidence suggesting that Oropouche could spread in yet another way: through sex.<\/p>\n

On August 2, 2024, a man who had been in Cuba from July 19 to 29 was diagnosed with Oropouche in a hospital in Italy. He had developed a fever his last day in Cuba. During his recovery, researchers used PCR tests to look for the virus in his blood, urine and semen. To their surprise, they not only found the virus in his semen 16 days after his symptoms started \u2014 and 6 days after they had completely resolved …<\/p>\n

A newer, stronger strain …<\/h3>\n

A study by Brazilian infectious disease researchers published on\u00a0The Lancet\u00a0<\/em>in October found that the Oropouche virus has changed so much that people who had immunity to it in the past no longer do. “Basically, it suggested that the virus has undergone a reassortment and it is very different from what had been circulating previously,” explains Dr. Hamer. “People who had immunity from past episodes \u2014 5, 10 years ago \u2014 they could become infected again.”<\/p>\n

And not only can this version of the virus infect people who had been immune before, it may infect people faster than ever before \u2014 explaining the current unprecedented spread. “It looks like it grows much more rapidly \u2013 it might be a more virulent strain of the virus,” says Dr. Hamer. https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/goats-and-soda\/2024\/11\/20\/g-s1-34891\/oropouche-virus-sexual-transmission-brazil<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The US Centers for Disease Control has the following about it:<\/p>\n

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Why Oropouche is of concern<\/h2>\n