Molecular Epidemiology of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus, South America, 2023-2024

Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) is a mosquitoborne virus that reemerged in December 2023 in Argentina and Uruguay, causing a major outbreak. We investigated the outbreak using epidemiologic, entomological, and genomic analyses, focusing on WEEV circulation near the Argentina‒Uruguay border...

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Published in:Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 30; no. 9; pp. 1834 - 1840
Main Authors: Campos, Aline Scarpellini, Franco, Ana Claúdia, Godinho, Fernanda M, Huff, Rosana, Candido, Darlan S, da Cruz Cardoso, Jader, Hua, Xinyi, Claro, Ingra M, Morais, Paola, Franceschina, Carolina, de Lima Bermann, Thales, Dos Santos, Franciellen Machado, Bauermann, Milena, Selayaran, Tainá Machado, Ruivo, Amanda Pellenz, Santin, Cristiane, Bonella, Juciane, Rodenbusch, Carla, Ferreira, José Carlos, Weaver, Scott C, Gewehr, Vilar Ricardo, Wallau, Gabriel Luz, de Souza, William M, Salvato, Richard Steiner
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01-09-2024
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Summary:Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) is a mosquitoborne virus that reemerged in December 2023 in Argentina and Uruguay, causing a major outbreak. We investigated the outbreak using epidemiologic, entomological, and genomic analyses, focusing on WEEV circulation near the Argentina‒Uruguay border in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. During November 2023‒April 2024, the outbreak in Argentina and Uruguay resulted in 217 human cases, 12 of which were fatal, and 2,548 equine cases. We determined cases on the basis of laboratory and clinical epidemiologic criteria. We characterized 3 fatal equine cases caused by a novel WEEV lineage identified through a nearly complete coding sequence analysis, which we propose as lineage C. Our findings highlight the importance of continued surveillance and equine vaccination to control future WEEV outbreaks in South America.
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ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059
1080-6059
DOI:10.3201/eid3009.240530