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What is ‘sloth fever?’ What to know about virus now identified in United States

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What is ‘sloth fever?’ What to know about virus now identified in United States

Cases of “sloth fever'” have been identified in the United States, triggering a health advisory from the Centers for Disease Control.

The illness is called Oropouche Virus, and it spreads primarily through the bite of an insect known as a midge, though some mosquitos can spread the potentially fatal disease as well.

The CDC issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory on Aug. 16 regarding increased Oropouche Virus activity and associated risk to travelers.

In the United States, travel-associated cases have been identified in travelers returning from Cuba and Brazil, according to the CDC.

This year, there have been more than 8,000 cases of the Oropouche virus reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Cuba. The virus has claimed two lives and five cases of transmission associated with fetal death or congenital abnormalities have been reported in those countries.

Here’s what you need to know about the disease, according to the CDC:

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What is sloth fever?

Oropouche virus was first detected in 1955 in Trinidad and Tobago and is endemic in the Amazon basin. Previous outbreaks have been described in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, and Peru.

Humans can become infected while visiting forested areas and are likely responsible for introducing the virus into urban environments. 

Sloth fever USA?

Though travel-associated cases have been identified in the United States, no evidence of local transmission currently exists within the United States or its territories.

Sloth fever symptoms

The illness’s incubation period is typically up to ten days. Symptoms are similar to those of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses, with an acute onset of fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and arthralgia.

Other symptoms include eye pain, light sensitivity, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, rash, and abdominal pain.

Some people — fewer than one in 20 — will develop more serious disease. This includes meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), or bleeding.

Death from Oropouche is rare.

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