Brazil Announces World’s First Deaths from Oropouche Fever

Brazil has confirmed the world’s first fatalities linked to Oropouche fever, Xinhua reported yesterday citing the country’s Health Ministry.

Two women under 30 from Bahia succumbed to the viral disease, exhibiting symptoms similar to severe dengue fever, the source mentioned.

This marks a significant milestone, as no deaths from Oropouche fever had been documented in global scientific literature until now.

According to the news agency, authorities are also probing another suspected death in Santa Catarina and investigating six potential cases of vertical transmission, which resulted in two fetal deaths.

Oropouche fever, first identified in Brazil in a sloth in 1960, has primarily affected the Amazon region and other Latin American countries. So far this year, Brazil has reported 7,236 cases of the disease.