Oropouche may raise Latin American healthcare strains

Significance This is the latest arboviral infection to threaten public health in South America recently, after the Zika virus epidemic in 2015-16 and the growing incidence of dengue and chikungunya. This year has also seen the first two deaths attributed to the infection. Impacts Recurrent bouts of illness could increase pressure on household budgets as people cannot work. Worries over birth defects could increase the number of illegal abortions, which pose health risks to women. The risk of other pathogens emerging from the Amazon region may increase as ecological balance is further disrupted.