Discovery of a Rodent Hepacivirus in the Brazilian Amazon
Nelielma G. Oliveira Prestes,
Leonardo H. Almeida Hernández,
Fábio Silva da Silva,
Thito Y. Bezerra da Paz,
Andressa O. Aragão,
Bruno C. Veloso de Barros,
Ricardo J. P. S. Guimarães,
Rommel T. J. Ramos,
Lívia Medeiros Neves Casseb,
Sandro Patroca da Silva,
Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos,
Ana Cecília Ribeiro Cruz
Affiliations
Nelielma G. Oliveira Prestes
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Leonardo H. Almeida Hernández
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Fábio Silva da Silva
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Thito Y. Bezerra da Paz
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Andressa O. Aragão
Genomic and Systems Biology Center, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil
Bruno C. Veloso de Barros
Faculdade Vale dos Carajás, Parauapebas 68515-000, PA, Brazil
Ricardo J. P. S. Guimarães
Geoprocessing Laboratory, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Rommel T. J. Ramos
Genomic and Systems Biology Center, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, PA, Brazil
Lívia Medeiros Neves Casseb
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Sandro Patroca da Silva
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
Ana Cecília Ribeiro Cruz
Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua 67030-000, PA, Brazil
In the eastern Brazilian Amazon, the Viseu municipality has almost 70% of its territory deforested. Monitoring viruses from wildlife hosts enables the prevention and control of epizootic events and outbreaks. Seven samples from three marsupials and two rodents were screened by high-throughput sequencing for virome analysis. The three samples from the two Proechimys roberti rodents, one from the liver, one from the brain, and one from a pooled viscera sample, showed the highest results in terms of viral abundance and richness. From these we obtained two strains of a new rodent hepacivirus (RHV), which belongs to a new putative genotype of an unclassified RHV species previously described in Panama and Northeast Brazil. The findings expand the host range of the cited RHV species, imply virus circulation in the study area, and suggest a viral tropism in the liver and perhaps in the brain.
