NEW YORK (AP) — More than 20 people who returned to the United States from Cuba have been infected with an insect-borne virus in recent months, federal health officials said Tuesday. All of them had Oropouche virus diseasealso known as sloth fever.
No one has died, and there is no evidence that the disease is spreading in the United States. But officials US doctors warn to pay attention to the risk of infection when travelling from Cuba and South America.
Here’s a look at the disease and what triggered the warning:
What is the Oropouche virus?
Oropouche is a virus native to tropical forest areas. It was first discovered in 1955 in a 24-year-old forest worker on the island of Trinidad and named after a nearby village and wetlands.
The disease is also called sloth fever because scientists first studied the virus and discovered it in a three-toed sloth, and assumed that sloths played a role in spreading the virus between insects and animals.
How does the Oropouche virus spread?
The virus is transmitted to humans by small biting flies called midges and by some species of mosquitoes. People have become infected while staying in forested areas and are believed to be responsible for spreading the virus to cities. However, human-to-human transmission has not been documented.
How many cases were there?
Since late last year, the virus has been identified as the cause of large outbreaks of disease in Amazon regions where it was known, as well as in new areas in South America and the Caribbean. About 8,000 locally transmitted cases have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba and Peru.
Some travelers in the United States and Europe have been diagnosed with the disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday 21 cases have been reported in the USA so far – 20 in Florida and one in New York – all of them had been in Cuba. European health officials previously said They had found 19 casesalmost all among travelers.
What are the symptoms and treatments?
Symptoms can be similar to those of other tropical diseases such as dengue fever, Zika or malaria. Fever, headache and muscle pain are common, and some infected people also suffer from diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or a rash.
Some patients experience recurrent symptoms, and one in 20 patients may experience more serious symptoms such as bleeding, meningitis and encephalitis. The disease is rarely fatal, but there have been recent reports of the deaths of two healthy young people in Brazil.
There are no vaccines to prevent infection and no medications to treat symptoms.
Are there any other concerns?
In Brazil, officials are investigating Reports that the infection could be transmitted from a pregnant woman to the fetus – a potentially frightening echo of what we saw in the Zika outbreaks nearly a decade ago.
The CDC has recommended that pregnant women Avoid non-essential travel to Cuba. and recommended that all travellers take measures Prevent insect bitessuch as the use Insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Science and Educational Media Group of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. All content is the responsibility of the AP.
