Like the dengue and Zika viruses, Oropouche virus causes a febrile illness. There are recent indications that infections during pregnancy can cause damage to unborn babies. Researchers at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now determined that the virus is much more widespread in Latin America than previously assumed. Their study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases,* also suggests that climatic conditions have a significant influence on the virus’s spread.
Oropouche virus was identified in Latin America in the 1950s. In the decades since, official reports in most countries have been limited to just a few cases per year. An international research team under Prof. Jan Felix Drexler, head of the Virus Epidemiology laboratory at the Institute of Virology at Charité, has now undertaken an extensive study to examine the pathogen’s actual prevalence. “Our data shows that Oropouche virus is massively under-diagnosed in Latin America,” says Drexler, who also conducts research at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). “In some areas, at least one person in ten has experienced a prior infection with the pathogen.”