Oropouche Fever Symptoms Resemble Those of Dengue

Amazonas declared that it is experiencing an outbreak of oropouche fever, the State had already registered 1,674 cases of the disease in February, an increase of 68% of the cases reported in the same period last year. Although cases of oropouche fever are concentrated in the northern region of the country, in recent weeks patients with the disease have emerged in other states, such as Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina. 

The maruim, of the genus Culicoides, is the mosquito that transmits the disease virus, which led the city of Luiz Alves, in the Itajaí Valley (SC), to declare an emergency situation on March 27th. Residents of the municipality report discomfort due to insect bites, which cause skin irritation. The decree reinforces that repellents and other chemical methods have proven ineffective against the insect. It is a virus that first appeared in 1955, in Trinidad, which is why it is named after where it was found. After that, it was located in other countries in the Amazon region such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Panama. 

Dengue-like symptoms

Professor Expedito Luna, from the Department of Preventive Medicine, in the area of ​​Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine of USP, explains that, among the main symptoms of the disease, are acute fever, body aches, nausea and diarrhea, confusing much with the symptoms of dengue, zika and chikungunya, however, in the case of oropouche fever, no deaths have yet been recorded. The transmitting insect is already present here in the State of São Paulo. Transmission can occur in two ways: more urban or wild, in forest areas, through birds and animals. 

Controlling this insect must be done at the beginning of the night, precisely when it attacks. It is possible to have mass transmission if control is not carried out by health surveillance.