Experts have admitted that they know hardly anything about a new deadly virus spreading around the world.
Although Oropouche virus has actually been around since around 1955, a new “mystery” deadly strain has taken experts by surprise.
The Centre for Disease Control in the United States has now issued an official warning after 8,000 cases of the virus – including six deaths comprised of two adults and four newborn babies – were found between January 1 and August 1 in the Amazon basin, South America and the Caribbean.
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Symptoms for the virus appear to be numerous, but the list of the most common one includes abrupt onset of reported fever and headaches, as well as one or more of the following: myalgia, arthralgia, photophobia, retro-orbital/eye pain, or signs and symptoms of neuro-invasive disease such as stiff neck, altered mental status, seizures, limb weakness, or cerebrospinal.
It takes between three to 10 days for the virus to present, with 60% of those infenced eventually presenting with symptoms.
A CDC spokesman said: “Although people exposed to biting midges or mosquitoes infected with the virus are most at risk for developing disease, the risk factors for more severe Oropouche virus disease are not well-defined.
“Humans can become infected while visiting forested areas and are likely responsible for introducing the virus into urban environments. Humans contribute to the transmission cycle in urban environments since infected humans develop sufficient viremia to serve as amplifying hosts.
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“Biting midges (Culicoides paraensis) and possibly certain mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus) are responsible for transmitting the virus from an infected person to an uninfected person in urban areas.”
And according to NPR, because there have been no deaths relating to the disease reported in the last 69 years, it appears as though experts are at a loss as to why this has suddenly changed.
Dr. Tulio de Oliveira, the director for the Centre of Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University said: “The answer is that we do not know (why this is happening) but what we do know is that many of these pathogens cause the worst clinical outcomes when they come in succession.”
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