Espírito Santo: Oropouche death confirmed in the Brazilian state
Espírito Santo confirmed the first death from Oropouche in the state. The victim, a 61-year-old woman, resident of the city of Fundão, died on August 28. This is the fourth death from the disease in the country this year, including two in Bahia and another fetal death in Pernambuco. There have been almost 11,000 confirmed cases so far this year. The majority were in Amazonas and Espírito Santo, with just over 3,000 cases each, followed by Rondônia, with 1,700.
This year, Brazil is experiencing an outbreak of Oropouche fever. Between EW1 and EW 49 of 2024, 10,940 laboratory-confirmed cases of Oropouche were reported4 in 22 of the country's 27 states. The Amazon region, considered endemic for Oropouche, concentrates 52.9% of the cases reported in the country with all seven states reporting cases: Amazonas (n= 3,231), Rondônia (n= 1,711), Acre (n= 273), Roraima (n= 277), Pará (n= 170), Amapá (n= 128), and Tocantins (n= 8).
Additionally, autochthonous transmission has been documented in 15 non-Amazonian states: Espírito Santo (n= 3.112), Bahia (n= 890), Ceará (n= 255), Minas Gerais (n= 195), Santa Catarina (n= 179), Pernambuco (n= 145), Rio de Janeiro (n= 118), Alagoas (n= 120), Sergipe (n= 34), Maranhão (n= 33), Piauí (n= 30), Mato Grosso (n= 18), São Paulo (n= 8), Paraíba (n= 5), and Mato Grosso do Sul (n=1).
Regarding the distribution of cases by sex and age group, 52.6% (n= 5,750) correspond to males and the highest proportion of cases is registered in the 20-29 years age group with 19.8% (n= 2,167) of the reported cases (4.5)
The virus is transmitted by an insect known as the biting midge and some mosquito species. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue fever and other arboviruses, such as fever, headache, muscle and joint pain. They appear between 3 and 8 days after the insect bite.
At the first signs, it is important to seek medical attention. Diagnosis is made through clinical, laboratory and epidemiological evaluation.
There is still no specific treatment or vaccine available. Medications relieve symptoms, with the use of painkillers and antipyretics to control fever.