Background
Microbiology
Epidemiology
- Transmitted by Transmitted by::Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes and Culicoides paraensis midges
- Causes periodic outbreaks in the Amazon Basin, but has since spread to other parts of South America and the Caribbean
- Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama
- But also Argentina, French Guiana, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago
- Cases now appearing in Barbados and Cuba
History
- Originally detected in 1955 in a person from the Vega de Oropouche village in Trinidad and Tobago, along the Oropouche River
Clinical Manifestations
- Incubation period 3 to 10 days
- Starts with fever, headache (often severe), chills, myalgias, arthralgias
- May have photophobia, dizziness, retroorbital/eye pain, nausea/vomiting
- May have maculopapular rash starting on trunk and spreading to extremities
- Occasionally can have conjunctival injection, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and hemorrhagic symptoms
- Bloodwork may show lymphopenia, elevated CRP, and mildly elevated liver enzymes
- Overall usually mild and self-limited
- Lasts for up to a week, but can recur days or weeks later
Neuroinvasive Disease
- In up to 4% of patients affected, it can cause meningitis or encephalitis
- A few case reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 11 days after onset of symptoms
Diagnosis
- PCR done on serum and urine
- Can also be done on CSF and tissue
- Ideally collected as soon as possible, up to 10 days of symptom onset
- Serology also available but plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT)
- Acute (collected within 7 days of symptoms) and convalescent (2 to 3 weeks after the first collection) are required
Treatment
