DEBILITATING ‘sloth’ fever could be passed on via sex, experts fear, after the virus was detected in sperm.

The little-known disease, officially called Oropouche virus, was found in Europe this summer for the first time after it started spreading rapidly in Latin America.

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The bug typically circulates between primates, including sloths – hence the nickname – before it is occasionally passed to humans by midges and mosquitoes.

Until now, experts didn’t think the virus could spread from person to person.

But a new study found “live” Oropouche virus in the semen of a 42-year-old Italian man 16 days after he initially developed symptoms, sparking concerns about possible sexual transmission.

The findings, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, could also impact sperm donation and fertility treatments.

“Pending further evidence we recommend use of barrier protection when engaging in sexual intercourse if OROV is confirmed or suspected,” the Italian researchers said.

Most Oropouche infections are mild, with symptoms similar to Dengue, including a headache, body pains, nausea, a rash and sensitivity to light.

Some individuals may also experience gastrointestinal symptoms, like sickness and diarrhoea.

In severe cases, the virus can also attack the brain leading to meningitis or encephalitis, which can be fatal.

To make matters worse, the disease is currently incurable.

It has been circulating in Latin America and the Caribbean for decades.

A surge in cases of the bug, which is endemic in the Amazon Rainforest, has been recorded in Brazil this year – 7,284, up from 832 in 2023.

And many infections have been recorded in areas that have not previously seen the virus, including Cuba.

Last month, Brazil reported the world’s first deaths from the bug after two women in their early twenties passed away in Bahia state in the northeast of the country, 

The two women, aged 21 and 24, suffered severe bleeding and hypotension and were reported dead on July 25.

At least 19 cases of Oropouche were reported in Europe for the first time in June and July, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) –  with 12 in Spain, five in Italy and two in Germany.

But these cases were imported into Europe – 18 of the people infected had just travelled back from Cuba and one of them from Brazil.

MIRANDA Hart is the latest in a string of famous people to be diagnosed with Lyme disease.

The bug has previously struck the likes of model Bella Hadid and her mum Yolanda, singers Justin Bieber and Avril Lavigne, and actor Ben Stiller to name a few.

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Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried by ticks which spreads when they bite humans.

There are around 3,000 cases in England and Wales every year.

It can cause flu-like symptoms, including fatigue, headache, swollen joints and a fever, which can last for a few weeks.

In some cases, patients can suffer from side effects for years.

This is what happened to the Call The Midwife actor, for whom it took 33 years to get a Lyme disease diagnosis, after initially mistaking her symptoms for agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder.

The comedian has now opened up about the health battle she faced behind closed doors during an appearance on Radio 4’s Today programme while discussing her new book.

“I was basically bed-bound – and housebound,” the 51-year-old said.

“There’d be times where I’d look at a glass of water, and think, ‘I don’t know how to pick that up’.

“All anyone wants is to be heard, accepted, loved and seen… and when you’re not – particularly in a medical situation – it’s the worst.”

So why does it seem like so many famous faces are being diagnosed with it?

Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases from the University of East Anglia, said there could be some factors that make celebrities more vulnerable.

“But it’s more likely that we’re more interested in hearing about celebrities, so we don’t hear about normal people,” he told The Sun.

Stars’ increased leisure time and access to the wilderness where ticks live could put them at greater risk, he added.

“If there is a rich and famous or class bias in this, it’s probably because they spend more time walking around in wooded parkland, more money to go out to those areas, or have big homes with these sorts of places,” Prof Paul said.

“As you’re walking along, the ticks jump on your legs and crawl their way up, then have a blood feast and give you Lyme disease,” he previously told MailOnline.

Celebs also have access to better healthcare, so may be more likely to get a diagnosis – though it can still take some time.

When Miranda finally received her diagnosis, she was able to trace the condition back to her teenage years.

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“Probably when I was about 14 or 15, I got a tick-borne illness and that’s when my symptoms started,” she recalled.

“It was such a relief. I mean, being misunderstood and misjudged is one of the hardest things about this kind of condition. For sure.”

Most celebs who have spoken about their Lyme disease diagnosis happen to live in the US – where there are over 300,000 cases per year.

Alexis, 41, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams, detailed his diagnosis in a series of posts on X (formally Twitter) earlier this year.

“Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have Lyme disease,” he said.

“Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat.”

TV star Yolanda Hadid revealed she had suffered depression amid a pileup of symptoms for the better part of a decade, which she attributed to chronic Lyme.

“I can’t begin to describe the darkness, the pain and the hell I lived through every day,” the 60-year-old socialite told British Vogue in February 2021.

“This disease brought me to my knees.”

Her daughter, Bella – now 28 – also last year described how she had undergone 100 days of treatment amid a battle with the condition.

The supermodel shared snaps of her medical records, which revealed the extent of her health problems spanning over a decade.

According to the documents, she suffered from extreme fatigue, memory disturbances, depression, sleep disorders, headaches, muscle weakness and joint aches as a teenager.

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She also experienced night sweats, heart palpitations, cold hands and feet, numbness, ADHD, ringing in her eyes and chest pain.

Singer Justin Bieber said, in January 2020, that doctors had diagnosed him with Lyme disease after receiving nasty remarks about his appearance. 

“While a lot of people kept saying, “Justin Bieber looks like s***, on meth” etc. they failed to realise I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease,” the 30-year-old artist wrote on Instagram.

“Not only that but I had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my skin, brain function, energy, and overall health,” he added.

Actor Ben Stiller told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011 that he’d been diagnosed with the bug in 2010.

“I got it in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a couple of years ago,” he said.

I had no idea a bug bite could do this – I was bedridden for five months

Avril Lavigne

“My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme.

“I’m symptom-free now, but Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. It’s a really tough thing.”

In September 2020, standup comedian Amy Schumer opened up about her Lyme disease diagnosis, saying she’d had it for years.

In a post on Instagram, the Trainwreck actress said: “Anyone get Lyme this summer? I got it and I’m on doxycycline.

“I have maybe had it for years. Any advice? Can you have a glass of wine or two on it?

“I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called Lyme-2.

“I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”

Avril Lavigne, spoke of her own diagnosis in 2015, which she revealed in an interview with People magazine.

She said: “I had no idea a bug bite could do this – I was bedridden for five months.

“When you go through something like that, you realise how fulfilling simple things are – things I could do anymore, like being able to get up in the morning and go to the kitchen and grab a cup of coffee. 

“It taught me patience; it taught me being more present. That was a beautiful lesson.”

What are the subtle symptoms of Lyme disease?

Most people develop a distinctive red rash in the shape of a circle with a ring around it between three and 30 days after they are bitten.

The rash can vary in size significantly and can expand over the course of days or weeks.

Typically, this blemish grows to around 15cm in diameter.

The 8 main symptoms of Lyme disease are:

1. A rash
2. Tiredness
3. Muscle pain
4. Headaches
5. High temperature
6. Joint pain
7. Chills
8. Neck stiffness

If left untreated, Lyme disease sufferers can develop much more serious symptoms including:

• Severe joint pain
• Nervous system pain which can lead to paralysis of facial muscles, memory problems and difficulties concentrating
• Heart problems, such as inflammation of the heart muscle
• Inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord as with meningitis