We all remember the dark days of the Covid thingy…..and now out of China could there be a new worry?

As with Covid starting in China a new bug has escaped the just 90 miles off the Coast of the US….

More than 20 people returning to the US from Cuba have been infected with a virus transmitted by bugs in recent months, federal health officials said Tuesday. None have died, and there is no evidence that it’s spreading in the United States. But officials are warning US doctors to be on the lookout for the infection in travelers coming from Cuba and South America, the AP reports. Here’s a look at the illness and what sparked the alert:

• What is Oropouche virus? Oropouche is a virus that is native to forested tropical areas. It was first identified in 1955 in a 24-year-old forest worker on the island of Trinidad, and was named for a nearby village and wetlands. It has sometimes been called sloth fever because scientists first investigating the virus found it in a three-toed sloth, and believed sloths were important in its spread between insects and animals.
• How does Oropouche virus spread? The virus is spread to humans by small biting flies called midges, and by some types of mosquitoes. Humans have become infected while visiting forested areas and are believed to be responsible for helping the virus make its way to towns and cities, but person-to-person transmission hasn’t been documented.
• How many cases have there been? Beginning late last year, the virus was identified as the cause of large outbreaks in Amazon regions where it was known to exist, as well as in new areas in South America and the Caribbean. About 8,000 locally acquired cases have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Peru. Some travelers have been diagnosed with it in the US and Europe. The CDC said Tuesday that 21 US cases have been reported so far—20 in Florida and one in New York— all of whom had been in Cuba. European health officials previously said they had found 19 cases, nearly all among travelers.
• Are there other concerns? In Brazil, officials are investigating reports that infections might be passed on from a pregnant woman to a fetus — a potentially frightening echo of what was seen during Zika outbreaks nearly a decade ago. The CDC has recommended that pregnant women avoid non-essential travel to Cuba and suggested all travelers take steps to prevent bug bites, such as using insect repellents and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Please do not rush out and buy up all the toilet paper….this is just an FYI to let my readers know what is lurking just offshore.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”