West Nile Virus isn’t the only thing spreading around Florida. U.S. health officials are now warning travelers about another insect-borne virus called Oropouche, nicknamed the sloth fever virus.
There have been more than 8,000 cases of the Oropouche virus disease in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Cuba through Aug. 1.
As of now, there is no evidence that sloth fever has been spread in the U.S. All of these cases were reported in travelers who had returned from Cuba.
The sloth fever virus is usually mild in most cases, but there have been two recently reported deaths in previously young, healthy people in Brazil.
The insect-borne sickness sloth fever virus, also known as Oropouche virus, is typically mild but can be lethal. The Centers for illness Prevention and Control said midges and mosquitoes spread the illness.
Before 2000, outbreaks were isolated to Brazil, Panama and Peru, with evidence of animals being infected in Colombia and Trinidad, according to the CDC.
Sloth fever virus symptoms can last between two and seven days, and they often reoccur a few days or even weeks later, according to the CDC. Most people recover within several days to a month.