4.6 Article

Retrospective Investigation in Horses with Encephalitis Reveals Unnoticed Circulation of West Nile Virus in Brazil

Journal

VIRUSES-BASEL
Volume 14, Issue 7, Pages -

Publisher

MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/v14071540

Keywords

WNV; nanopore sequencing; genomic monitoring; Brazil

Categories

Funding

  1. National Institutes of Health USA through the United World Antiviral Research Network (UWARN) [U01 AI151698]
  2. Brazilian Ministry of Health [SCON2021-00180]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Several studies have provided evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) circulation in Brazil, but the genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of the virus in the country are still largely unknown. Recent genomic monitoring activities in horses have revealed the presence of WNV in different regions of Brazil. This study retrospectively screened WNV samples from encephalitic horses and identified two independent introduction events of the virus in Brazil. These findings emphasize the importance of increasing the priority of WNV genomic monitoring in horses with encephalitis.
During these past years, several studies have provided serological evidence regarding the circulation of West Nile virus (WNV) in Brazil. Despite some reports, much is still unknown regarding the genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of this virus in the country. Recently, genomic monitoring activities in horses revealed the circulation of WNV in several Brazilian regions. These findings on the paucity of genomic data reinforce the need for prompt investigation of WNV infection in horses, which may precede human cases of encephalitis in Brazil. Thus, in this study, we retrospectively screened 54 suspicious WNV samples collected between 2017 and 2020 from the spinal cord and brain of horses with encephalitis and generated three new WNV genomes from the Ceara and Bahia states, located in the northeastern region of Brazil. The Bayesian reconstruction revealed that at least two independent introduction events occurred in Brazil. The first introduction event appears to be likely related to the North American outbreak, and was estimated to have occurred in March 2013.The second introduction event appears to have occurred in September 2017 and appears to be likely related to the South American outbreak. Together, our results reinforce the importance of increasing the priority of WNV genomic monitoring in equines with encephalitis in order to track the dispersion of this emerging pathogen through the country.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.6
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available