Autochthonous Japanese Encephalitis with Yellow Fever Coinfection in Africa

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 376; no. 15; pp. 1483 - 1485
• Main Authors: Simon-Loriere, Etienne, Faye, Ousmane, Prot, Matthieu, Casademont, Isabelle, Fall, Gamou, Fernandez-Garcia, Maria D, Diagne, Moussa M, Kipela, Jean-Marie, Fall, Ibrahima S, Holmes, Edward C, Sakuntabhai, Anavaj, Sall, Amadou A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Massachusetts Medical Society 13-04-2017
• Subjects: Angola; Bioinformatics; Coinfection; Computer Science; Encephalitis; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese - genetics; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese - isolation & purification; Encephalitis, Japanese; Encephalitis, Japanese - complications; Epidemics; Fever; Genetics; Genomes; Human genetics; Humans; Infections; Life Sciences; Male; Microbiology and Parasitology; Parasitology; Phylogeny; Populations and Evolution; Quantitative Methods; RNA, Viral; RNA, Viral - analysis; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Vaccines; Virology; Viruses; Yellow Fever; Yellow Fever - complications; Yellow fever virus; Yellow fever virus - genetics; Yellow fever virus - isolation & purification; Young Adult; South America; Angola; Senegal; Asia; Africa
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1701600

Evidence of local transmission of Japanese encephalitis virus has been identified in Angola, raising questions about the potential spread of this mosquito-borne pathogen to Africa.
To the Editor:
Japanese encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus are mosquito-borne flaviviruses that circulate in disjunct geographic areas with different mosquito vectors. Japanese encephalitis is endemic to most of Asia and the Western Pacific, whereas yellow fever occurs in tropical areas of Africa and South America. Both viruses lead to a wide spectrum of disease severities that include asymptomatic infection and mild illness with influenza-like symptoms. However, severe yellow fever disease can be fatal in 20 to 60% of cases,
1
whereas symptomatic Japanese encephalitis virus can progress to severe encephalitis, with case fatality rates of up to 30%. Survivors . . .