Latest news with #JanFelixDrexler
Daily Record
05-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Mystery deadly virus spreading silently is more dangerous than expected - and has no vaccine
A deadly virus - known as oropouche virus or sloth fever - is quietly spreading across South America and Europe as scientists fear it's more rampant than first believed. Scientists reveal Oropouche virus is more widespread and dangerous than they first believed. The virus - which is also known as sloth fever - has spread across South America over the past 18 months, as well as cases recently being discovered in Europe for the first time. The virus is transmitted by midges and some types of mosquito and it's largely contained in the Amazon region, the Mirror reports. Sloth fever was believed to be a mild infection, with headaches, rashes and nausea as the general symptoms. But, scientists have warned it could also lead to pregnancy loss or birth defects. Since late 2023, over 20,000 cases of oropouche virus have been reported across Latin America, sparked by a warming climate and increasingly frequent rain storms. Those living near the Amazon rainforest face the highest risk, with analysis suggesting up to 10% of the population may have previously had "sloth fever" - often without even knowing it. Professor Jan Felix Drexler, head of the Virus Epidemiology laboratory at the Institute of Virology at Charité, explains: "We therefore assume that the current oropouche outbreak has been fuelled by weather phenomenons like El Niño." El Niño refers to a weather pattern marked by above-average sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean. He adds: "By contrast, we have not found evidence that changing properties of the virus could provide an alternative explanation for the high case count at present." Professor Drexler has also sent an ominous warning for the rest of the world, explaining that the virus could spread even further out of the continent of South America. He states: "I think it's possible that oropouche virus will become even more widespread in the future as climate change progresses." Sloth fever was detected in Europe for the first time last year, with confirmed cases in Italy, Spain and Germany. Spain reported 12 cases of oropouche in June and July 2024, while Italy had five and Germany had two. Out of the 19 total cases, 18 had recently traveled to Cuba and one had previously visited Brazil. It is not believed any of these cases were internally transmitted in Europe, they had all picked up the virus outside of the continent. Oropouche virus was first identified in 1955 in Trinidad and Tobago, named after the Oropouche River as it was found nearby. Over the past 25 years, the virus has caused outbreaks in countries including Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, and Peru. Additionally, in June last year Cuba had reported its first case of the infection. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sloth fever symptoms start somewhere between three and 10 days after infection. Notably, there have been very few deaths among people infected with sloth fever. There is currently no medication to treat the virus and there is no vaccination to protect against it. Anyone who has been diagnosed with infection is advised to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. No cases of sloth fever have been confirmed in the UK, and the risk of it spreading to Britain remains extremely low. However, health experts stress the importance of staying aware and seeking medical advice if there's any reason to suspect exposure. Dr Philip Veal, Travel Health Consultant at UKHSA, said: "The midge that carries Oropouche virus is not currently established in Europe. It is typically found in the Americas. There is no evidence that the virus can spread from person to person. "When travelling to affected areas, you can avoid the infection, and others such as dengue, Zika and malaria, by preventing insect bites. Use insect repellent, cover exposed skin and sleep under a treated bed net. Plan ahead and visit the TravelHealthPro website to look up your destination and the latest health information and advice, particularly if you are pregnant."
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Mystery deadly virus spreading quietly is more dangerous than thought - and there's no vaccine
Oropouche virus - or sloth fever, as it's also known - is a deadly virus that's quietly spreading across South America and Europe, and scientists fear it's more prevalent than first believed Oropouche virus is far more common and dangerous than previously believed, scientists have revealed. The virus - which is also known as sloth fever - has soared across South America over the past 18 months, and it's recently been discovered in Europe for the first time, too. It's spread by midges and some types of mosquito, and it's largely contained the Amazon region. Sloth fever was largely believed to be a mild infection, with general symptoms like headaches, rashes and nausea. But, it could also lead to pregnancy loss or birth defects, scientists warned. More than 20,000 cases of oropouche virus have been reported in Latin America since late 2023, sparked by a warming climate and more frequent rain storms. Anyone living around the Amazon rainforest was most at risk of infection, with analysis showing up to 10% of all people had previously had sloth fever - whether they knew it or not. 'We therefore assume that the current oropouche outbreak has been fueled by weather phenomenons like El Niño,' explains Professor Jan Felix Drexler, head of the Virus Epidemiology laboratory at the Institute of Virology at Charité. El Niño describes a weather phenomenon that causes a higher-than-average sea surface temperature in the central Pacific Ocean. 'By contrast, we have not found evidence that changing properties of the virus could provide an alternative explanation for the high case count at present," he added Professor Drexler also sent an ominous warning for the rest of the world, claiming the virus could spread even further outside the continent. "I think it's possible that oropouche virus will become even more widespread in the future as climate change progresses." Sloth fever was found in Europe for the very first time last year. It was confirmed in Italy, Spain and Germany. Spain reported 12 cases of oropouche in June and July of 2024. Italy had five cases, and Germany had two. Eighteen of the 19 cases had a travel history to Cuba, and one had previously visited Brazil. It's not believed any of the cases were internally passed on in Europe, and they all picked up the virus outside the continent. Oropouche was first discovered in 1955, in Trinidad and Tobago. It got its name after being found next to the Oropouche River. The virus has previously sparked outbreaks in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, and Peru over the past 25 years. In June last year, Cuba reported its first case of the infection. Sloth fever symptoms tend to start somewhere between three and 10 days after infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There have been very few deaths among people infected with the virus, it added. There's no current medication to treat oropouche, and there's no vaccination to protect against it. Anyone that's been diagnosed with the infection would be advised to get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids. There have been no confirmed cases of sloth fever in the UK, and the risk of it ever reaching Britain or Northern Ireland remains incredibly low. But, it's vital that everyone stays alert to the threat, and seeks medical attention if they think they could be at risk, health experts have claimed. Dr Philip Veal, Travel Health Consultant at UKHSA, said: 'The midge that carries Oropouche virus is not currently established in Europe. It is typically found in the Americas. There is no evidence that the virus can spread from person to person. 'When travelling to affected areas, you can avoid the infection, and others such as dengue, Zika and malaria, by preventing insect bites. Use insect repellent, cover exposed skin and sleep under a treated bed net. Plan ahead and visit the TravelHealthPro website to look up your destination and the latest health information and advice, particularly if you are pregnant.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oropouche virus more prevalent than previously assumed, data shows
The Oropouche virus is much more widespread in Latin America than previously thought, according to a study from Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru. Oropouche virus disease, also known as Oropouche fever, is a febrile illness, from which patients typically recover quickly. It's caused by the Oropouche virus, which people catch through the bites of infected biting midges, and possibly of some mosquitoes, the World Health Organization says. International researchers found antibodies against the pathogen in 6.3% of more than 9,400 blood samples, meaning at least one in 16 people there has had this infection at least once in their lives, says co-author Jan Felix Drexler. More than 6.3% of the population has probably already had contact with the virus, says Drexler, head of the Virus Epidemiology working group at Germany's Charité hospital. "We don't know how long the antibodies last," he says. But there were significant regional differences, the team wrote in a paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. While in Costa Rica, an average of around 2% of the samples showed antibodies against the pathogen, in Ecuador it was 5% and in the Amazon regions, more than 10%. The blood samples were taken between 2001 and 2022. Symptoms of the Oropouche virus (OROV) are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya fever and include headaches, muscle and joint pain, nausea and diarrhoea, sometimes also skin rashes. In rare cases, the disease can be severe. There are also indications of possible damage to unborn children. There is currently no specific treatment or vaccination for the virus. The virus is transmitted in Latin America by different mosquito species. For a long time, only a few cases were reported per year as little testing was carried out. But the number of infections has risen to more than 20,000 cases per year since 2023, though it is unclear why this is the case. Drexler's team say climate factors such as rainfall and temperature have a major influence. Last year's heavy rainfall in parts of South America could have contributed to larger mosquito populations and thus to the spread of the virus. In Germany, the Foreign Office and Robert Koch Institute (RKI) centre for disease control say pregnant women should weigh whether it is necessary for them to travel to areas where there are outbreaks. If you are travelling to areas affected, take consistent protection against bug bites by wearing long clothing, using insect repellent and getting a particularly fine-mesh mosquito net.
