Warning to British holidaymakers as deadly sloth fever infects three more people in popular European hotspot
Three cases of ‘sloth fever’ have been detected in the popular European holiday destination, the Canary Islands.
Health officials in the Spanish archipelago, located just 60miles (100km) off the African coastline, confirmed the cases of the oropouche virus, related to dengue and zika viruses, in three people who had travelled from Cuba.
These cases were among a 36-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman from Tenerife, and a 52-year-old man from Gran Canaria.
The trio reportedly started suffering symptoms including fever, diarrhoea, and joint pain before lab results confirmed they had the oropouche virus.
While all three have responded well to treatment and not needed hospitalisation, authorities said a further three cases in the Spanish islands are still awaiting testing.
Health officials in the Spanish archipelago, located just 60miles (100km) off the African coastline confirmed the cases of the oropouche virus, related to dengue and zika viruses, in three people who had travelled from Cuba. Pictured: Tenerife
The new cases in the Canary islands, which is just a short direct flight from London, are the latest in a string to hit the European region in recent months.
Cases have been reported in at least 19 people in Europe over the past two months, according to the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), not including the latest cases.
Twelve were reported in Spain, five in Italy, and two in Germany.
While nicknamed ‘sloth fever’ oropouche isn’t spread directly by the animals themselves.
Instead, it is transmitted by small flying biting insects like midges that can carry the disease from the sloths to other animals, including people.
Oropouche symptoms typically start four to eight days after being bitten and in severe cases illness can result in meningitis, according to the NHS Travax website.
Although potentially deadly, the ECDC said fatal outcomes are extremely rare and recovery from the disease is common. In most cases symptoms subside within four days.
Outbreaks of the virus to date have been reported in several countries across South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
In 2024 specific outbreaks have been recorded in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and more recently in Cuba where the Canary Island cases recently travelled from.
Eighteen of the cases recorded in Europe reported recent travel to Cuba and one case in Italy had travelled to Brazil.
According to a report in the Lancet, on July 25 two deaths caused by oropouche were reported for the first time in Brazil in two young women who had no other underlying health conditions.
Although the cases remain low in Europe, between January and mid-July this year more than 8,000 cases have been recorded in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Cuba.
Due to these high numbers the ECDC has said the likelihood of infection for EU citizens travelling to or residing in epidemic areas is currently assessed as moderate.
The European authority is advising those travelling to affected areas to wear insect repellent and long-sleeved shirts and long trousers to reduce the risk of bites.
While experts say the virus is unlikely to ‘take hold’ in nations with cooler climates like Britain, it could become a problem for those travelling abroad who could then fall sick upon their return to the UK.
There is no vaccine for the disease which originates in pale-throated sloths, non-human primates and birds
Pattern of spots on the insect’s wings is a characteristic nature of midges and mosquitos that carry ‘sloth virus’. Photo: Ceratopogonidae Collection of IOC/Fiocruzi
Experts have warned the spread of disease could become ‘unstoppable’ due to the absence of vaccines against it.
The US has also been hit by a string of cases. In total, 21 Americans have been diagnosed with the oropouche virus in recent weeks.
The US Centers for Disease Control said, much like the European cases, the patients were diagnosed after returning from Cuba.
Twenty of the cases were in Florida and one is in New York. The most common symptoms were fevers, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue and stiffness.
Three patients were hospitalized, but there were no deaths.
The strain behind the recent outbreak was first spotted in the tiny village of Oropouche, in Trinidad and Tobago, back in 1955.
Five years later, during the construction of the Belem-Brasilia highway, a sloth was tested as carrying Oropouche.
Within a year people in the area became ill with the virus and since there have been around 30 outbreaks, all centred in the Amazon basin.
It’s unclear which insects spread the virus in the jungle where it circulates between sloths, birds and primates. But in an urban setting midges and mosquitos spread the disease among humans.
But due to deforestation and increased urbanisation, host animals such as sloths are more displaced, causing midges and mosquitoes to feed on humans rather than wildlife.
Soaring temperatures caused by climate change has also meant midges are flying further afield and increased rainfall and flooding provides the perfect breeding ground for the biting insects.
