Viruses (Nov 2018)

Following in the Footsteps of the Chikungunya Virus in Brazil: The First Autochthonous Cases in Amapá in 2014 and Its Emergence in Rio de Janeiro during 2016

  • Thiara Manuele Alves de Souza,
  • Edcelha D’Athaide Ribeiro,
  • Valmir Corrêa e Corrêa,
  • Paulo Vieira Damasco,
  • Carla Cunha Santos,
  • Fernanda de Bruycker-Nogueira,
  • Thaís Chouin-Carneiro,
  • Nieli Rodrigues da Costa Faria,
  • Priscila Conrado Guerra Nunes,
  • Manoela Heringer,
  • Monique da Rocha Queiroz Lima,
  • Jéssica Badolato-Corrêa,
  • Márcio da Costa Cipitelli,
  • Elzinandes Leal de Azeredo,
  • Rita Maria Ribeiro Nogueira,
  • Flavia Barreto dos Santos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v10110623
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 11
p. 623

Abstract

Read online

Currently, Brazil lives a triple arboviruses epidemic (DENV, ZIKV and CHIKV) making the differential diagnosis difficult for health professionals. Here, we aimed to investigate chikungunya cases and the possible occurrence of co-infections during the epidemic in Amapá (AP) that started in 2014 when the first autochthonous cases were reported and in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) in 2016. We further performed molecular characterization and genotyping of representative strains. In AP, 51.4% of the suspected cases were confirmed for CHIKV, 71.0% (76/107). Of those, 24 co-infections by CHIKV/DENV, two by CHIKV/DENV-1, and two by CHIKV/DENV-4 were observed. In RJ, 76.9% of the suspected cases were confirmed for CHIKV and co-infections by CHIKV/DENV (n = 8) and by CHIKV/ZIKV (n = 17) were observed. Overall, fever, arthralgia, myalgia, prostration, edema, exanthema, conjunctival hyperemia, lower back pain, dizziness, nausea, retroorbital pain, and anorexia were the predominating chikungunya clinical symptoms described. All strains analyzed from AP belonged to the Asian genotype and no amino acid changes were observed. In RJ, the East-Central-South-African genotype (ECSA) circulation was demonstrated and no E1-A226V mutation was observed. Despite this, an E1-V156A substitution was characterized in two samples and for the first time, the E1-K211T mutation was reported in all samples analyzed.

Keywords