The CDC has issued a Health Alert with detailed information regarding the increasing risk of seeing patients with Oropouche virus (OROV) due to travel risk in South America and the Caribbean, particularly Cuba.
Oropouche is a virus spread to people through the bite of an infected biting midge (aka “no-see-ums”) and/or mosquitoes with evidence of vertical transmission from infected pregnant mothers to the fetus. Incubation is 3-10 days and initial symptoms are similar to diseases caused by Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya viruses, including things such as fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia. Other symptoms can include retroorbital (eye) pain, photophobia (light sensitivity), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, maculopapular rash, conjunctival injection, and abdominal pain. About 70% of patients experience recurrent symptoms days to weeks after resolution of their initial illness. From January 1 – August 1, 2024, more than 8,000 cases of OROV have been reported worldwide, including locally-acquired cases in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Cuba and 30 travel-associated cases in the U.S., and Europe. This has included 2 deaths and 5 cases of vertical transmission associated with fetal death or congenital abnormalities.
Kentucky providers are being alerted for two reasons: 1) to be aware of the possibility of seeing patients who may be infected with OROV, and 2) to advise patients who are considering travel to countries at increased risk for Oropouche virus transmission.
If you have a patient with appropriate symptoms, who reports travel to South America, Cuba or other Caribbean countries, please rule out other possibilities, such as Dengue, Zika, or other likely pathogens. Oropouche does not generally have a respiratory component, so patients with other symptoms and respiratory symptomology should also be ruled out for COVID, Flu, and RSV before considering Oropouche. If OROV is a likely possibility, testing is available through CDC as coordinated by KDPH. Please contact Morgan Smith, Dr. Kelly Giesbrecht, or Dr. Allison Siu at the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) by calling 502-564-3418 or after hours 888 9-REPORT (888-973-7678) to report a potential case, consult with public health staff, or to request testing.
All people considering travel to affected countries should be advised to take precautions to avoid bug bites, and pregnant women should reconsider nonessential travel to Cuba. If travel is unavoidable, these travelers should practice strict Oropouche prevention recommendations, which can be found on CDC’s website at: https://www.cdc.gov/oropouche/prevention/index.html.
Please share these English and Spanish flyers for mosquito bite prevention with travelers. To prevent bites from midges, repellents should be EPA-registered and indicate effectiveness for biting flies.
