Chikungunya virus infection in the southernmost state of Brazil was characterised by self-limited transmission (2017-2019) and a larger 2021 outbreak.

Abstract

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus that has been causing large outbreaks in the Americas since 2014. In Brazil, Asian-Caribbean (AC) and East-Central-South-African (ECSA) genotypes have been detected and lead to large outbreaks in several Brazilian states. In Rio Grande do Sul (RS), the southernmost state of Brazil, the first cases were reported in 2016. We employed genome sequencing and epidemiological investigation to characterise the Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) burden in RS between 2017-2021. We detected an increasing CHIKF burden linked to travel associated introductions and communitary transmission of distinct lineages of the ECSA genotype during this period. Until 2020, CHIKV introductions were most travel associated and transmission was limited. Then, in 2021, the largest outbreak occurred in the state associated with the introduction of a new ECSA lineage. CHIKV outbreaks are likely to occur in the near future due to abundant competent vectors and a susceptible population, exposing more than 11 million inhabitants to an increasing infection risk.