Mosquito-borne illnesses are on the rise across the globe from dengue to West Nile virus. A lesser-known disease Oropouche virus is in news after it killed two young women from Bahia in Brazil - the first known deaths caused by the virus, as confirmed by Brazil's health ministry on Thursday. Oropouche virus is spread by bites of midges, a kind of small flies, though it can also be spread via mosquitoes. The pathogen also spreads through mosquitoes like Culex quinquefasciatus, Coquillettidia venezuelensis, and Aedes serratus mosquitoes. It cannot be spread from person to person.
The virus causes sudden onset of fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, joint pain, and shares many of its symptoms with mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue. However, rarely it can cause complications like nosebleeds, gum bleeding or meningoencephalitis.
