Clinical manifestations of Oropouche virus infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Oropouche virus (OROV) is emerging as a growing public health concern, with increasing numbers of case, an expanding global spread and the potential for severe clinical outcomes. However, despite the increasing incidence, the clinical features of OROV infections have not yet been thoroughly examined. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the prevalence of clinical manifestations in OROV infections. For this purpose, a comprehensive search across PubMed, Web of Science and Embase was conducted up to April 9, 2025, to identify relevant studies. A random effects model was employed to calculate the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were calucalted. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic. Additionally, sensitivity analyses and publication bias assessments were conducted to ensure the robustness of our findings. The present study included 28 articles and assessed 4,196 patients with OROV infection from 6 countries across the globe. The pooled prevalence of clinical manifestations of OROV included fever (97%), headache (86.5%), myalgia (72.3%), malaise or fatigue (56.4%), arthralgia (50.3%), chills (49.6%), loss of appetite (44.3%), eye pain (43.2%), back pain (31.7%), pallor (31.7%), dizziness (30.2%), photophobia (30.9%), nausea/vomiting (28.9%), sore throat (26.1%), odynophagia (22.9%), diarrhea (18.4%), skin rash (18.2%), conjunctival injection (15.4%), abdominal pain (16.3%), petechiae (2.3%), cough (12.9%), and chest pain (0.7%). High heterogeneity was detected among the included studies, which may be attributed to differences in geographic locations and diagnostic methodologies. Sensitivity analyses further supported the robustness of our findings. On the whole, the present systematic review provides a comprehensive analysis of the clinical manifestations of OROV infection, highlighting key symptoms that may aid in differential diagnosis in arbovirus-endemic regions. The findings may provide critical insight for clinicians and public health professionals and lay the groundwork for future research on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of OROV.