Abstract

BACKGROUND Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of dengue virus (DENV) epidemics, the virus remains a public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Most DENV cases in the Americas between January and July 2019 were reported in Brazil. São Paulo State in the southeast of Brazil has reported nearly half of all DENV infections in the country.OBJECTIVES To understand the origin and dynamics of the 2019 DENV outbreak.METHODS Here using portable nanopore sequencing we generated20 new DENV genome sequences from viremic patients with suspected dengue infection residing in two of the most-affected municipalities of São Paulo State, Araraquara and São José do Rio Preto. We conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis with 1,630 global DENV strains to better understand the evolutionary history of the DENV lineages that currently circulate in the region.FINDINGS The new outbreak strains were classified as DENV2 genotype III (American/Asian genotype). Our analysis shows that the 2019 outbreak is the result of a novel DENV lineage that was recently introduced to Brazil from the Caribbean region. Dating phylogeographic analysis suggests that DENV2-III BR-4 was introduced to Brazil in or around early 2014, possibly from the Caribbean region.MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our study describes the early detection of a newly introduced and rapidly-expanding DENV2 virus lineage in Brazil.

Highlights

  • Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of dengue virus (DENV) epidemics, the virus remains a public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions around the world

  • Our analysis shows that the 2019 outbreak is the result of a novel DENV lineage that was recently introduced to Brazil from the Caribbean region

  • The Southeast region of Brazil has reported 65.7% of all dengue cases identified in the country.[16]. São Paulo state is the most highly densely populated state and the main socio-economic hub in Brazil; previous studies suggest the state was an important source location for the spread of DENV4 in the country.[17]. Here, we characterise the genetic diversity of circulating DENV in two municipalities of São Paulo State

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Summary

BACKGROUND

Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of dengue virus (DENV) epidemics, the virus remains a public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Most DENV cases in the Americas between January and July 2019 were reported in Brazil. São Paulo State in the southeast of Brazil has reported nearly half of all DENV infections in the country

METHODS
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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