Minister Jiménez: Venezuela has the tools to deal with the Oropouche virus

Published at: 08/04/2025 09:04 AM

The sector vice-president for Science, Technology, Ecosocialism and Health, Gabriela Jiménez Ramírez, reported through her Telegram channel, that Venezuela has all the capabilities to carry out molecular diagnostics in real time and care for every patient who is affected by the Oropouche virus.

“Together with the Ministry of People's Power for Health, we are keeping the epidemiological alert active and sustained throughout the country to serve the Venezuelan people in a comprehensive way,” he said.

In the same way, he stressed that “thanks to our scientists, we have the National Plan for the Prevention, Surveillance and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases, deployed throughout the country to prevent and control the spread of diseases.”

The Minister of Popular Power for Science and Technology (Mincyt), released a video in which the researcher of the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), Dr. José Luis Zambrano, explains where this virus comes from, what its symptoms are and how to prevent it.

In the audiovisual material, Zambrano narrates that this infection is caused by an arbovirus of the genus Orthobunyavirus that was first identified in 1955 in Trinidad and Tobago.

He also highlighted that after the bite and during the incubation period, this virus can cause a febrile condition of 39 or more degrees Celsius, generate headache or retroorbital headache, as well as nausea and vomiting.

“There is currently no defined treatment for Oropouche, there is little research into drugs for antiviral activity,” he said.

He recommended that people go to a healthcare center when they have any of these symptoms, so that they can make an early or differential diagnosis other than another arbovirus.

Mazo News Team/MINCYT