A new strain of the virus responsible for oropouche fever (OROV) may be linked to the current outbreak of the disease, according to research led by scientists at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). This year alone, more than 7,200 cases of the disease have been recorded in the country, which has also recorded two deaths, the first in the world.
The research, made available on the medRxiv preprint platform and not yet peer-reviewed, aimed to track the origin and genetic evolution of OROV that led to the outbreak that began in 2022. To do this, scientists analyzed 382 complete genomes of the virus, collected from human samples in different states in the North region, between 2022 and 2024.
According to the article, the increase in OROV cases coincides with the emergence of a new viral lineage, probably originating in the Amazon between 2010 and 2014, and which spread silently in the second half of the 2010s.
The research further suggests that the spread of the virus was largely driven by short-distance movements of infected mosquitoes (less than 2 km), but that there was a significant proportion of long-distance migrations (more than 10 km), indicating that human activities contributed to the dispersal of OROV.
What is oropouche fever?
Oropouche fever is a disease caused by an arbovirus (virus transmitted by mosquitoes) called Orthobunyavirus oropoucheense (OROV). Transmitted to humans mainly by the bite of Culicoides paraensis, known as the sandfly or sandfly, this virus was detected in Brazil in the 1960s, from a blood sample taken from a sloth captured during the construction of the Belém-BrasÃlia highway.
According to the Ministry of Health, the symptoms of the disease are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya. The acute clinical picture can evolve with sudden onset of fever, headache, muscle pain and joint pain. Other symptoms, such as dizziness, pain behind the eyes, chills, photophobia, nausea and vomiting are also reported.
Until this year, there were no records in the literature of deaths from the disease. Brazil, however, confirmed two deaths due to the virus in Bahia. A third case in Santa Catarina remains under investigation.
In addition, six possible cases of vertical transmission of the disease, that is, transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, are being analyzed. Among them, two cases resulted in fetal death, there was one spontaneous abortion and three cases presented congenital anomalies, such as microcephaly. Researchers are still investigating the real relationship between the disease and the conditions.
Source: CNN Brasil
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