Abstract
ABSTRACT In early 2017, an outbreak caused by an unknown and supposedly viral agent in the Marilena region of southern Brazil was investigated. Since the etiological agent causing the outbreak was not identified from human samples, mosquitoes from this region were collected. Three out of 121 mosquito pools collected from the region tested positive for alphavirus in molecular tests. Next generation sequencing results revealed the presence of a novel alphavirus, tentatively named here as Caainguá virus (CAAV). DNA barcoding analyses indicated that different species of Culex are hosts for CAAV. This new virus was basal to the New World encephalitic alphaviruses in a comprehensive and robust phylogenetic approach using complete genomes. Viral particles were observed in the cytosol and inside of intracellular compartments of cells in mosquito-derived cell cultures. Despite being noninfectious in vertebrate derived cell cultures, primary culturing of CAAV in human mononuclear cells suggests monocytes and lymphocytes as CAAV targets. However, the epidemiological link of CAAV on the human outbreak should be further explored.
Highlights
The genus Alphavirus of the Togaviridae family comprises enveloped, single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses and currently includes over 30 species [1]
We describe a new alphavirus, named Caainguá virus (CAAV), isolated from Culex mosquitoes, which were collected during an outbreak of an unknown arthritogenic disease in Marilena municipality, Southern Brazil
As patient symptoms were compatible with classical alphavirus symptomatology, we assessed whether this new isolate could be associated with disease in vertebrates, especially because phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that CAAV is placed basally in the clade of the encephalitic alphavirus complex
Summary
The genus Alphavirus of the Togaviridae family comprises enveloped, single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses and currently includes over 30 species [1] Members of this genus have an ∼11.7 Kb genome with a capped 5′ end and a poly-A tail at the 3′ end and is divided into two open reading frames, the nonstructural and the structural domains [2]. Alphaviruses are broadly distributed on all continents and are primarily transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes during blood meal feeding These viruses are classically divided into Old World and New World viruses [7], with Old World viral infections often causing clinical symptoms such as fever, rash and arthritis, whereas New World viral infections are associated with encephalitis. The recent spread of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), originally from the Old World, to the Americas [8,9], demonstrates the dissemination dynamics of arboviruses worldwide
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