A study published in the scientific journal 'New England Journal of Medicine' confirms vertical transmission of the Oropouche virus in a case of fetal death registered in Ceará. This is the third confirmed case in the country.
Vertical transmission occurs when a microorganism passes from mother to baby during pregnancy.
The work was carried out in collaboration with the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz), through the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory, which acts as a regional reference in arboviruses for the Ministry of Health.
Detection of vertical transmission was carried out by the surveillance service of the Ceará Health Department (Sesa/CE).
The following people collaborated on the study: Sesa/CE; University of Fortaleza (Unifor); Federal University of Ceará (UFC); Dr. Rocha Furtado Death Verification Service of Ceará (SVO/Sesa/CE); Central Public Health Laboratory of Ceará (Lacen-CE); IOC/Fiocruz; São Leopoldo Mandic College; and Paulo Marcelo Martins Rodrigues School of Public Health of Ceará (ESP/CE).
According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil registered 8,2 thousand cases of Oropouche fever in 2024. In a bulletin with data up to October 19th, the department reported two confirmed cases of vertical transmission and more than 20 under investigation. The two confirmed records correspond to a case of fetal death in Pernambuco and a case of congenital anomalies in Acre.
The study provides information about the clinical condition of the pregnant woman, who began to present symptoms compatible with Oropouche, such as fever and body and headache pain, on July 24, during the 30th week of pregnancy.
On August 5, fetal death was diagnosed. With the family's authorization, specialists performed minimally invasive procedures to collect samples from the baby.
At Lacen-CE, the Oropouche virus was detected in several fetal samples, including cerebrospinal fluid and brain, lung and liver tissue, as well as the umbilical cord and placenta. Infection by the pathogen was also confirmed in a blood sample from the mother.
As a reference laboratory, the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory of IOC received samples for a new round of testing. After confirming the positive result, genetic sequencing of the virus detected in the fetus was performed.
The analysis indicated the presence of the lineage called OROVBR_2015-2024, which recently emerged in Brazil and was characterized in article published in the scientific journal 'Nature Medicine', led by IOC and by the Leonidas and Maria Deane Institute (Fiocruz Amazon).
“The analysis of these genomes showed that the virus belongs to the lineage that emerged in the North Region, spread throughout Brazil and reached different countries such as Bolivia, Cuba, the United States and Italy”, points out virologist Felipe Naveca, head of the Laboratory of Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Viruses at IOC.
“This is yet another study that shows that the Oropouche virus is capable of causing vertical infection. The mechanism by which this occurs is still unknown, but there is already robust evidence that Oropouche can cause severe damage to fetuses, including death,” adds the researcher.
Garcia Filho, C. et al. A Case of Vertical Transmission of Oropouche Virus in Brazil. New England Journal of Medicine, 2024. Available at: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2412812
Naveca, FG et al. Human outbreaks of a novel reassortant Oropouche virus in the Brazilian Amazon region. Nature Medicine, 2024. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03300-3
A study published in the scientific journal 'New England Journal of Medicine' confirms vertical transmission of the Oropouche virus in a case of fetal death registered in Ceará. This is the third confirmed case in the country.
Vertical transmission occurs when a microorganism passes from mother to baby during pregnancy.
The work was carried out in collaboration with the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz), through the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory, which acts as a regional reference in arboviruses for the Ministry of Health.
Detection of vertical transmission was carried out by the surveillance service of the Ceará Health Department (Sesa/CE).
The following people collaborated on the study: Sesa/CE; University of Fortaleza (Unifor); Federal University of Ceará (UFC); Dr. Rocha Furtado Death Verification Service of Ceará (SVO/Sesa/CE); Central Public Health Laboratory of Ceará (Lacen-CE); IOC/Fiocruz; São Leopoldo Mandic College; and Paulo Marcelo Martins Rodrigues School of Public Health of Ceará (ESP/CE).
According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil registered 8,2 thousand cases of Oropouche fever in 2024. In a bulletin with data up to October 19th, the department reported two confirmed cases of vertical transmission and more than 20 under investigation. The two confirmed records correspond to a case of fetal death in Pernambuco and a case of congenital anomalies in Acre.
The study provides information about the clinical condition of the pregnant woman, who began to present symptoms compatible with Oropouche, such as fever and body and headache pain, on July 24, during the 30th week of pregnancy.
On August 5, fetal death was diagnosed. With the family's authorization, specialists performed minimally invasive procedures to collect samples from the baby.
At Lacen-CE, the Oropouche virus was detected in several fetal samples, including cerebrospinal fluid and brain, lung and liver tissue, as well as the umbilical cord and placenta. Infection by the pathogen was also confirmed in a blood sample from the mother.
As a reference laboratory, the Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Virus Laboratory of IOC received samples for a new round of testing. After confirming the positive result, genetic sequencing of the virus detected in the fetus was performed.
The analysis indicated the presence of the lineage called OROVBR_2015-2024, which recently emerged in Brazil and was characterized in article published in the scientific journal 'Nature Medicine', led by IOC and by the Leonidas and Maria Deane Institute (Fiocruz Amazon).
“The analysis of these genomes showed that the virus belongs to the lineage that emerged in the North Region, spread throughout Brazil and reached different countries such as Bolivia, Cuba, the United States and Italy”, points out virologist Felipe Naveca, head of the Laboratory of Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Viruses at IOC.
“This is yet another study that shows that the Oropouche virus is capable of causing vertical infection. The mechanism by which this occurs is still unknown, but there is already robust evidence that Oropouche can cause severe damage to fetuses, including death,” adds the researcher.
Garcia Filho, C. et al. A Case of Vertical Transmission of Oropouche Virus in Brazil. New England Journal of Medicine, 2024. Available at: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2412812
Naveca, FG et al. Human outbreaks of a novel reassortant Oropouche virus in the Brazilian Amazon region. Nature Medicine, 2024. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03300-3
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