The State Department of Health and the Municipal Health Department of Botuverá, in the Médio Vale do Itajaí, confirmed, this Friday (26), three cases of Oropouche Fever in the municipality. According to the secretariats, the tests were sent to a private laboratory that detected the presence of the virus on April 25th.
Oropouche fever: SC confirms three cases of the disease transmitted by the maruim – Photo: Reproduction/Labclasspardini/ND
The patients presented symptoms between April 10th and 15th. According to the Department of Health, the clinical picture was similar to dengue infection. These are the first confirmed cases in Santa Catarina.
“After collecting samples that proved not to be dengue, samples were sent for diagnosis of oropouche. The people are between 18 and 40 years old and there is no history of moving outside the State”, he informed in a note.
The official statement also explains that the secretariats are monitoring the situation, checking the possibility of validating the diagnosis of cases by the national reference public health laboratory, considering the guidance from the Ministry of Health.
The secretariat also reinforced that the State and Botuverá began the epidemiological investigation to develop a series of complementary actions, such as systematizing information on suspected and confirmed cases, with details such as movements, symptoms and clinical picture.
In addition, collecting vectors for entomological surveys and forwarding samples from other patients for testing by the Santa Catarina Central Public Health Laboratory, with the aim of strengthening disease surveillance, is also among the actions.
Symptoms
According to the Ministry of Health, Oropouche Fever resembles the symptoms of other diseases, such as dengue fever. Both diseases can present similar symptoms, such as fever, body and joint pain, headache and fatigue.
However, there are specific differences in the symptoms and course of the disease, and differential diagnosis is made based on specific tests for each virus.
Oropouche Fever Treatment
According to the Ministry of Health, oropouche fever is a disease caused by an arbovirus.
There is no specific treatment, but the patient must remain at rest and receive medical supervision.
Common analgesics and antipyretics may be prescribed to alleviate symptoms, which are very similar to those of dengue.
Disease transmission
The disease is not transmitted through the bite of Aedes aegypti (dengue fever) but rather through other mosquitoes, especially Culicoides paraensis, known as maruim.
After biting an infected person or animal, the virus remains in the mosquito’s blood for a few days. If a healthy person is bitten by an infected mosquito, they can contract the virus.
They proliferate mainly during periods of heat in humid environments, such as in areas close to mangroves, lakes, swamps and rivers.
But they are not restricted to rural areas, being present in urban spaces with availability of water and organic matter, especially close to vegetable gardens, gardens and trees.
Furthermore, Culex quinquefasciatus, one of the species popularly called mosquito, can also act as a vector.
