No cases of Oropouche fever in Kuwait

Getty Images/Getty Images

The type of midges responsible for transmitting the Oropouche virus does not exist in Kuwait

Staff Writer, Arab Times

August 1, 2024

PHOTO

KUWAIT CITY, July 31: According to Dr. Jenan Al-Harbi, an entomologist in the Department of Science at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), the type of midges responsible for transmitting the Oropouche virus does not exist in Kuwait, despite Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes constituting 27 percent of the midge population in Kuwait. She highlighted public concerns following reports about the first death case, with fears that Oropouche fever could escalate into an epidemic like COVID-19. Dr. Al Harbi explained that Oropouche fever is a tropical viral infection transmitted by biting midges and mosquitoes from the blood of sloths to humans. It is named after the region where it was first discovered, which was in 1955 at the Trinidad Regional Virus Laboratory near the Oropouche River in Trinidad and Tobago.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is syndicated or provided to this website from an external third party provider. We are not responsible for, and do not control, such external websites, entities, applications or media publishers. The body of the text is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither we nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this article. Read our full disclaimer policy here.