Authorities across Europe have warned travelers heading to South America to take adequate precautions after at least 20 cases of Sloth fever have been detected. According to news reports, Spain, Italy, and Germany have reported infections in patients who visited Cuba and Brazil, where the Oropouche virus has been circulating.

The European Center for Disease Control or ECDC says at least 10-15 cases of the infection have been reported in Spain, five in Italy, and two in Germany. This is the first time the virus - dubbed 'sloth' fever due to its ability to circulate between primates, sloths, and birds, in the wild before it is occasionally passed to humans by midges and mosquitoes - has been detected outside South America.

According to The Lancet, ever since the diagnosis of the two European travelers earlier this year, more people with a history of visits to the infection-prone area have tested positive for the virus.

A majority of cases of the virus – which causes miscarriages and birth defects have been reported in Brazil, apart from Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health first reported Oropouche cases in May. Since then, a total of 74 cases have been confirmed – a majority of them in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Songo La Maya.

There are no vaccines to treat the virus, which comes from the same family of diseases that includes Zika virus and Dengue fever.

European health chiefs warned of a "moderate" threat to travelers visiting Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Cuba. Doctors have also cautioned pregnant women against visiting these countries since current data suggests the virus could lead to miscarriage and birth defects.

"The impact of OROV infection for pregnant women, fetuses, and newborns could therefore be higher than for the general population, although this is still under investigation," Prof Francois Balloux director of the University College London's Genetics Institute, told The Sun. "In all likelihood, we will see more cases of Oropouche virus [in Europe] over the coming months as the current outbreak is still ongoing."

Oropouche fever, which results from OROV infection, is an emerging zoonotic disease transmitted primarily via the bites of infected Culicoides paraensis - commonly known as biting midges, and sometimes via mosquitoes.

According to experts, C paraensis is commonly found in water bodies like ponds, lakes, rivers, and humid tropical regions, particularly in some areas of different South American countries, and it plays an important role in the transmission dynamics of OROV.

Experts say even though most Oropouche infections are mild with symptoms similar to dengue, a few signs and symptoms are caused, including:

• Headache
• Body pains
• Nausea
• A rash
• Sensitivity to light
• Gastrointestinal issues like indigestion, stomachache, sickness, and diarrhoea

The virus also attacks the brain leading to meningitis or encephalitis.

Last month, Brazil reported the world's first deaths from the bug after two women in their early 20s passed away in Bahia state in the northeast of the country. The two, aged 21 and 24, suffered severe bleeding and hypotension and were reported dead in July.

In June Brazil's health minister, she was reported a pregnant woman lost her baby at 30 weeks, with the Oropouche virus detected in the umbilical cord and organs.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.