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What is sloth fever? The Oropouche virus and its symptoms, explained.
The Oropouche virus, a potentially fatal disease also referred to as “sloth fever,” has made its way to the United States, prompting questions about what Americans should know.
On Tuesday, Florida’s health department reported 30 cases of Oropouche fever in the state, all linked to travel from Cuba. There has also been one case reported in New York following travel.
Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory to notify clinicians and public health authorities of an increase in the virus.
“Between January 1 and August 1, 2024, more than 8,000 cases of Oropouche virus disease were reported, including two deaths and five cases of vertical transmission associated with fetal death or congenital abnormalities,” the CDC alert stated, adding countries reporting cases include Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Cuba.
“No evidence of local transmission currently exists within the United States or its territories,” the CDC added.
How is sloth fever transmitted?
Oropouche virus is spread to people primarily by the bite of infected biting midges (a type of small fly) and mosquitoes.
According to the CDC, the virus is transmitted in forested areas between mosquitoes and non-human vertebrate hosts such as birds, rodents and sloths, which is where its nickname is derived. Humans then become infected while visiting these areas and can introduce the virus to urban environments.
Evgeny Gostuhin / Getty Images
Sloth fever symptoms
Sloth fever can present similarly to other mosquito-borne diseases like dengue or chikungunya fever, according to the New York State Department of Health, which can make identifying it challenging.
The health department said most often symptoms include:
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Muscle aches and pains
- Joint stiffness
According to the CDC, other symptoms can include:
- Sensitivity to light
- Dizziness
- Pain behind the eyes
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Rash
“Symptoms typically last less than a week (2-7 days) and can often reoccur a few days or even weeks later. Most people with Oropouche recover within several days to one month,” the CDC noted on its website. “Some people (fewer than one in 20) will develop more serious disease. This includes meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord), encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), or bleeding.”
Sloth fever treatment and prevention
There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat Oropouche, according to the CDC. The best way to protect yourself is avoiding bug bites.
You can do this by using insect repellant, using window and door screens and using a fan outdoors to keep bugs away, the CDC recommends.
The CDC is also recommending that pregnant people avoid nonessential travel to areas of infection, including Cuba and Brazil.
At least 11 employees were taken to hospitals and residents were urged to shelter in place on Tuesday after an explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, business.
The Louisville Metro Emergency Services reported on social media a “hazardous materials incident” at 1901 Payne St., in Louisville. The address belongs to a facility operated by Givaudan Sense Colour, a manufacturer of food colorings for soft drinks and other products, according to officials and online records.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said emergency teams responded to the blast around 3 p.m. News outlets reported that neighbors heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the business. Overhead news video footage showed an industrial building with a large hole in its roof.
WLKY-TV
“The cause at this point of the explosion is unknown,” Greenberg said in a news conference. No one died in the explosion, he added.
Greenberg said officials spoke to employees inside the plant. “They have initially conveyed that everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred,” he said.
The Louisville Fire Department said in a post on the social platform X that multiple agencies were responding to a “large-scale incident.”
The Louisville Metro Emergency Services first urged people within a mile of the business to shelter in place, but that order was lifted in the afternoon. An evacuation order for the two surrounding blocks around the site of the explosion was still in place Tuesday afternoon.
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A rare square 37-carat emerald owned by the Aga Khan fetched nearly $9 million at auction in Geneva on Tuesday, making it the world’s most expensive green stone.
Sold by Christie’s, the Cartier diamond and emerald brooch, which can also be worn as a pendant, dethrones a piece of jewelry made by the fashion house Bulgari, which Richard Burton gave as a wedding gift to fellow actor Elizabeth Taylor, as the most precious emerald.
In 1960, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan commissioned Cartier to set the emerald in a brooch with 20 marquise-cut diamonds for British socialite Nina Dyer, to whom he was briefly married.
Dyer then auctioned off the emerald to raise money for animals in 1969.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
By chance that was Christie’s very first such sale in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva, with the emerald finding its way back to the 110th edition this year.
It was bought by jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels before passing a few years later into the hands of Harry Winston, nicknamed the “King of Diamonds.”
“Emeralds are hot right now, and this one ticks all the boxes,” said Christie’s EMEA Head of Jewellery Max Fawcett. “…We might see an emerald of this quality come up for sale once every five or six years.”
Also set with diamonds, the previous record-holder fetched $6.5 million at an auction of part of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor’s renowned jewelry collection in New York.
