Genome sequencing reveals coinfection by multiple chikungunya virus genotypes in a recent outbreak in Brazil

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 May 16;13(5):e0007332. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007332. eCollection 2019 May.

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an RNA virus from the Togaviridae family transmitted by mosquitoes in both sylvatic and urban cycles. In humans, CHIKV infection leads to a febrile illness, denominated Chikungunya fever (CHIKF), commonly associated with more intense and debilitating outcomes. CHIKV arrived in Brazil in 2014 through two independent introductions: the Asian/Caribbean genotype entered through the North region and the African ECSA genotype was imported through the Northeast region. Following their initial introduction, both genotypes established their urban cycle among large naive human populations causing several outbreaks in the Americas. Here, we sequenced CHIKV genomes from a recent outbreak in the Northeast region of Brazil, employing an in-house developed Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) protocol capable of directly detecting multiple known CHIKV genotypes from clinical positive samples. Our results demonstrate that both Asian/Caribbean and ECSA genotypes expanded their ranges, reaching cocirculation in the Northeast region of Brazil. In addition, our NGS data supports the findings of simultaneous infection by these two genotypes, suggesting that coinfection might be more common than previously thought in highly endemic areas. Future efforts to understand CHIKV epidemiology should thus take into consideration the possibility of coinfection by different genotypes in the human population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Chikungunya Fever / epidemiology
  • Chikungunya Fever / virology*
  • Chikungunya virus / classification
  • Chikungunya virus / genetics*
  • Chikungunya virus / isolation & purification*
  • Coinfection / epidemiology
  • Coinfection / virology*
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • Genome, Viral*
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Whole Genome Sequencing
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Pernambuco Research Foundation (FACEPE) process n° APQ-0078-2.02/16 under GLW coordination and APQ-0044-2.11/16; APQ-0055-2.11/16 and CNPq Grant Number 439975/2016-6 under RFOF coordination. CG is supported by a grant from Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-15-CE32-0011-01 TransVir). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.