Oropouche Virus: The Silent Threat of a Re-emerging Arbovirus

Oropouche virus is a neglected, emerging arthropod-borne virus belongs to the Bunyaviridae family that has caused significant public health concerns especially in South America. Since its discovery in 1950s, this virus has demonstrated a considerable impact on public health through its silent spread and occasional outbreaks. At least 30 major outbreaks have been reported with more than half a million clinical cases have been documented in many countries including Brazil, Peru, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago so far. In 2024, more than 16000 confirmed cases were reported including four deaths. The virus is endemic to Amazon and currently spreading outside of its territory to other non-endemic countries and has been linked to human death for the first time. This has raised the major concerns about the threat of this virus to the public health. The virus is transmitted through the bite of midge Culicoides paraensis and possibly of certain mosquitoes. Oropouche virus fever did not exhibit any specific clinical symptoms and hence it is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as other arboviral diseases. Currently there are no vaccines or specific antiviral treatment available; hence disease prevention mainly focused on vector control and personal protection measures. Understanding the multifaceted drivers influencing the emergence and spread of these diseases is vital for effective control and prevention strategies. This infection is recently emerging as one of the most important viral diseases in Latin America and likely to remain a considerable threat to global public health in the near future. Here, in this review an overview of Oropouche virus, clinical features and its pathogenesis are presented.