Recurring risk: Like Zika, Oropouche virus can also affect the brains of unborn babies

Discovered in 1955, the Oropouche virus circulated mainly in the Amazon, causing a febrile illness virtually indistinguishable from dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, viruses also transmitted by biting mosquitoes. This similarity likely contributed to it being underdiagnosed for decades. Although little known to the general public, Oropouche has never been a rare virus, and in some areas of the North region, it has even caused more cases than other arboviruses. This distribution appeared to be…