Systemic and neurological manifestations of Oropouche virus infection in Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To analyze and synthesize the available scientific evidence on the systemic and neurological manifestations of Oropouche virus (OROV) infection in humans in Brazil. Methods: A systematic review conducted in the BVS, SciELO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, using DeCS/MeSH descriptors for “febrile illness”, “encephalitis”, and “microcephaly”. Original articles in Portuguese or English were included, with no time restriction, requiring laboratory or clinical-epidemiological case confirmation. Non-peer-reviewed materials and studies without relevant clinical data were excluded. Results: Of 715 articles initially identified, 10 met the inclusion criteria, mostly case reports and case series, predominantly from the Northern region of Brazil. The most frequent systemic symptoms were fever, headache, and arthralgia. Consistent evidence pointed to neuroinfection (meningitis, encephalitis) and vertical transmission, with cases of microcephaly and fetal death associated with OROV. Final considerations: The findings reinforce the need to include Oropouche in the differential diagnosis of arboviral diseases and in the investigation of neurological syndromes and congenital malformations. The main limitations stem from the predominance of observational studies with low methodological robustness.