MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan health authorities warn of another disease transmitted by mosquitoes

Oropouche causes a condition similar to that of dengue

Paraguayan health authorities said the number of dengue cases was declining. Still, they told the population to look out for oropouche, another mosquito-borne virus that causes symptoms similar to those of dengue. Instead of the Aedes Aegypti, or pouches is carried by the Culicoides Paraensis mosquito.

”Seventy-eight percent of the notifications reported in the last three weeks come from Central, Itapúa, Asunción, Alto Paraná, Misiones, Paraguarí, Caaguazú, Guairá and Ñeembucú. Since the beginning of the epidemic (September 2023), 42% of the cases are concentrated in the pediatric age group, with the most affected age group being 5 to 9 years old with 14%, followed by 10 to 14 years old with 12%.“

”Oropouche fever is an emerging disease in the Amazon region, which has recently affected several countries in America. It is transmitted by the bite of the Culicoides paraensis mosquito that produces symptoms similar to dengue,” the document continues.

The Paraguayan authorities admitted that no case has yet been recorded locally, but the disease has already been detected in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, so it is necessary to act preventively.

Oropouche causes a condition similar to that of dengue. It is characterized by the sudden appearance of symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, muscle and joint pain. In some cases, rashes appear on the skin. Sometimes more serious symptoms include vomiting and bleeding with small red spots on the skin, nosebleeds, or bleeding gums. Meningitis or encephalitis may occasionally occur. The infection has an incubation period of 4 to 8 days, although sometimes the first symptoms can appear between 3 and 12 days.

Most cases of oropouche last seven days, however, in some patients convalescence may take weeks. As with dengue, protection and prevention measures include the elimination of breeding sites, the use of repellents and mosquito nets, as well as timely consultation for diagnosis and treatment.

As for dengue, 98 people have died from the disease between September 2023, when the outbreak began, and last week. Between April 7 and 27, 1,975 probable and 18,882 suspected cases of dengue were registered. The last reported week, from April 21 to 27, there were 218 cases, compared to 576 fifteen days ago, 42% of them in pediatric patients. Of the 225 hospitalizations confirmed for the dengue virus, 21% of patients reported having some comorbidity, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, Paraguay has accumulated 42,775 confirmed cases, 30,119 probable cases, and 226,822 suspected cases.

However, only five of all deaths were recorded during the last three epidemiological weeks when a total of 929 people were hospitalized with suspected arbovirosis but only 341 were diagnosed with dengue and 12 were admitted to intensive care.