NEW YORK (AP) — Greater than 20 individuals returning to the U.S. from Cuba have been contaminated with a virus transmitted by bugs in current months, federal well being officers stated Tuesday. All of them had Oropouche virus illness, often known as sloth fever.

None have died, and there’s no proof that it’s spreading in the USA. However officers are warning U.S. docs to be looking out for the an infection in vacationers coming from Cuba and South America.

Right here’s a have a look at the sickness and what sparked the alert:

What’s Oropouche virus?

Oropouche is a virus that’s native to forested tropical areas. It was first recognized in 1955 in a 24-year-old forest employee on the island of Trinidad, and was named for a close-by village and wetlands.

It has typically been referred to as sloth fever as a result of scientists first investigating the virus discovered it in a three-toed sloth, and believed sloths had been essential in its unfold between bugs and animals.

How does Oropouche virus unfold?

The virus is unfold to people by small biting flies referred to as midges, and by some kinds of mosquitoes. People have grow to be contaminated whereas visiting forested areas and are believed to be answerable for serving to the virus make its solution to cities and cities, however person-to-person transmission hasn’t been documented.

What number of instances have there been?

Starting late final yr, the virus was recognized as the reason for massive outbreaks in Amazon areas the place it was recognized to exist, in addition to in new areas in South America and the Caribbean. About 8,000 domestically acquired instances have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Peru.

Some vacationers have been recognized with it within the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention on Tuesday stated 21 U.S. instances have been reported thus far — 20 in Florida and one in New York — all of whom had been in Cuba. European well being officers beforehand stated they’d discovered 19 instances, almost all amongst vacationers.

What are the signs and coverings?

Signs can appear much like different tropical illnesses like dengue, Zika or malaria. Fever, complications and muscle aches are frequent, and a few contaminated individuals additionally undergo diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or rash.

Some sufferers undergo recurring signs, and 1 in 20 can undergo extra extreme signs like bleeding, meningitis and encephalitis. It’s hardly ever deadly, although there are current experiences of deaths in two wholesome younger individuals in Brazil.

There are not any vaccines to forestall infections and no medicines accessible to deal with the signs.

Are there different issues?

In Brazil, officers are investigating experiences that infections could be handed on from a pregnant lady to a fetus — a probably scary echo of what was seen throughout Zika outbreaks almost a decade in the past.

The CDC has really useful that pregnant girls keep away from non-essential journey to Cuba and recommended all vacationers take steps to forestall bug bites, resembling utilizing insect repellents and sporting long-sleeved shirts and lengthy pants.

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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Instructional Media Group. The AP is solely answerable for all content material.