New findings reveal the presence of replication-competent Oropouche virus in semen, posing fresh questions about sexual transmission risks and public health safety. Research Letter: Replication-Competent Oropouche Virus in Semen of Traveler Returning to Italy from Cuba, 2024 . Image Credit: CI Photos / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , researchers at the University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy, investigated the presence of replication-competent Oropouche virus (OROV) (an arbovirus causing flu-like illness, transmitted by biting midges and mosquitoes) in the semen of a traveler diagnosed with Oropouche fever, highlighting potential risks for sexual transmission.
Background Oropouche fever is endemic to the Amazon basin, but outbreaks have spread to countries like Brazil, Peru, Panama, and beyond, with over half a million cases since its discovery. OROV is an emerging zoonotic arbovirus from the Simbu serogroup of the genus Orthobunyavirus, family Peribunyaviridae. Its natural hosts include nonhuman primates, some wild birds, and pale-throated sloths.
OROV is primarily transmitted by biting midges, such as Culicoides paraensis and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. Symptomatic Oropouche fever resembles an influenza-like illness, with possible self-limiting meningitis or meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and its protective membranes). While endemic to the Amazon Region, over 9,852 confirmed Oropouche cases have been.