This is a world first. Oropouche fever, a tropical disease, had never before caused a death anywhere in the world. But the disease has caused the death of two people in Brazil, the South American country’s health ministry announced on Thursday.
The victims are two women from the state of Bahia (northeast) “under 30 years old, without comorbidities, but who presented (…) symptoms similar to a form of severe dengue fever”, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said in a statement, adding that “until now, no deaths linked to the disease (had) been reported in the world scientific literature”.
Brazilian health authorities also say they are investigating another death, also suspected of having Oropouche fever, in the southern state of Santa Catarina. They are also examining six possible cases of vertical transmission of the disease, i.e. between a pregnant mother and her child.
More than 7,000 cases
Transmitted by insects and mosquitoes, Oropouche fever was first detected in Brazil in 1960, in the blood of a sloth. Since then, cases have been reported, mainly in the Amazon and other Latin American countries. According to the Brazilian government, more than 7,000 cases have been reported in the country.
These first deaths announced by Brazil coincide with a dengue fever epidemic that is raging in the country this year, the worst in its history, with almost 5,000 confirmed deaths since January 1. A multiplication of contaminations that even reaches France. And Oropouche fever presents symptoms similar to those of dengue fever, although milder.