The Ministry of Health confirmed this Thursday (25) two deaths from oropouche fever in the country. Until now, there was no report in the world’s scientific literature about the occurrence of death from the disease, the ministry reported in a note. 
The deaths are of women who lived in the interior of Bahia. They were under 30 years of age, had no comorbidities, and presented signs and symptoms similar to severe dengue.
Cases under investigation
The ministry is investigating a death in Santa Catarina and whether four cases of pregnancy interruption and two cases of microcephaly in babies are related to the disease (Pernambuco, Bahia and Acre). A relationship between the fever and a death in Maranhão was ruled out.
On the 11th, the Ministry of Health issued a technical note to all states and municipalities recommending the reinforcement of health surveillance regarding the possibility of vertical transmission of the virus. With the technical note, the ministry also intends to guide society about arboviruses.
The measure was adopted after the Evandro Chagas Institute detected the presence of the virus genome in a case of fetal death, and antibodies in samples from four newborns with microcephaly.
However, the ministry highlighted that there is no consistent scientific evidence on the transmission of the Orov virus from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, nor on the effect of the infection on baby malformations or miscarriage.
This year, 7,236 cases of oropouche fever have been recorded in 20 states. Most were identified in Amazonas and Rondônia. Since 2023, the detection of cases of the disease has been expanded in Brazil, through diagnostic tests in the public network in all regions.
Oropouche fever
Oropouche fever is a viral disease. The Orov virus is transmitted mainly through the bite of a mosquito known as maruim (Culicoides paraensis), as well as by species of the Culex mosquito. In Brazil, the virus was isolated for the first time in 1960.
The ministry explained that oropouche fever can be confused with dengue fever. The disease progresses with sudden onset of fever, headache, myalgia (muscle pain) and arthralgia (joint pain). Other symptoms such as dizziness, retro-ocular pain, chills, photophobia, nausea and vomiting are also reported.
Symptoms last approximately two to seven days. However, up to 60% of patients may experience recurrence of symptoms one to two weeks after the initial symptoms. Most people have a benign course of symptoms without sequelae, even in the most severe cases.
To date, there is no specific treatment for oropouche fever. Current therapy only relieves symptoms.
