Replication-Competent Oropouche Virus in Semen of Traveler Returning to Italy from Cuba, 2024

Abstract

A febrile man in Italy who had traveled to Cuba in July 2024 was diagnosed with Oropouche fever. Reverse transcription PCR detected prolonged shedding of Oropouche virus RNA in whole blood, serum, urine, and semen. Sixteen days after symptom onset, replication-competent virus was detected in semen, suggesting risk for sexual transmission.

Keywords: Cuba; Italy; Oropouche virus; PCR; arboviruses; bunyaviridae infections; isolation and purification; reproductive health; semen; vector-borne infections; viruses.

Figure 1

Clinical events and laboratory findings associated with OROV infection in a 42-year-old man from Italy who visited Cuba during July 19–29, 2024. Shown is clinical timeline of patient’s OROV infection, with key days indicating the onset of symptoms and the results of both endpoint and real-time RT-PCR tests of whole blood, serum, urine, and semen samples. ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; CHIKV, chikungunya virus; Ct, cycle threshold; DENV, dengue virus; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; NT, not tested; neg, negative; OROV, Oropouche virus; pos, positive; RT-PCR, reverse transcription PCR; ZIKV, Zika virus.

Figure 2

Cytopathic effect associated with Oropouche virus infection in a 42-year-old man from Italy who visited Cuba during July 19–29, 2024, observed by using light microscopy on Vero E6 cells monolayer after 5 days of incubation. A) Semen sample from patient (Appendix). B) Semen sample from uninfected control. Original magnification ×10.