Retrospective molecular investigation of Mayaro and Oropouche viruses at the human-animal interface in West-central Brazil, 2016-2018

PLoS One. 2022 Nov 17;17(11):e0277612. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277612. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Mayaro virus (MAYV, Togaviridae) and Oropouche orthobunyavirus (OROV, Peribunyaviridae) are emerging enzootic arboviruses in Latin America. Outbreaks of febrile illness associated with MAYV and OROV have been reported among humans mainly in the northern region of Brazil since the 1980s, and recent data suggest these viruses have circulated also in more populated areas of western Brazil. MAYV shares mosquito vectors with yellow fever virus and it has been historically detected during yellow fever epidemics. Aiming to investigate the transmission of OROV and MAYV at the human-animal interface during a yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks in Brazil, we conducted a retrospective molecular investigation in 810 wild and domestic animals, 106 febrile patients, and 22.931 vectors collected from 2016 to 2018 in Cuiaba and Campo Grande metropolitan regions, western Brazil. All samples tested negative for OROV and MAYV RNA by RT-qPCR. Findings presented here suggest no active circulation of MAYV and OROV in the sampled hosts. Active surveillance and retrospective investigations are instrumental approaches for the detection of cryptic and subclinical activity of enzootic arboviruses and together serve as a warning system to implement appropriate actions to prevent outbreaks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arboviruses* / genetics
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Orthobunyavirus* / genetics
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Yellow Fever*
  • Zika Virus Infection*
  • Zika Virus*

Supplementary concepts

  • Oropouche orthobunyavirus

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grant number 302462/2018-0 to FBS, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grant numbers E-26/202.003/2016; E-26/202.659/2019 and E-26/211.344/2021, and by the Office of Infectious Disease, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). To Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Finance Code 001 for Helver Dias' fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.