Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas

Faria, N. R.; Quick, J.; Claro, I.M.; Thézé, J.; de Jesus, J. G.; Giovanetti, M.; Kraemer, M. U. G.; Hill, S. C.; Black, A.; da Costa, A. C.; Franco, L. C.; Silva, S. P.; Wu, C.-H.; Raghwani, J.; Cauchemez, S.; du Plessis, L.; Verotti, M. P.; de Oliveira, W. K.; Carmo, E. H.; Coelho, G. E.; Santelli, A. C. F. S.; Vinhal, L. C.; Henriques, C. M.; Simpson, J. T.; Loose, M.; Andersen, K. G.; Grubaugh, N. D.; Somasekar, S.; Chiu, C. Y.; Muñoz-Medina, J. E.; Gonzalez-Bonilla, C. R.; Arias, C. F.; Lewis-Ximenez, L. L.; Baylis, S. A.; Chieppe, A. O.; Aguiar, S. F.; Fernandes, C. A.; Lemos, P. S.; Nascimento, B. L. S.; Monteiro, H. A. O.; Siqueira, I. C.; de Queiroz, M. G.; de Souza, T. R.; Bezerra, J. F.; Lemos, M. R.; Pereira, G. F.; Loudal, D.; Moura, L. C.; Dhalia, R.; França, R. F.; Magalhães, T.; Marques, E. T.; Jaenisch, T.; Wallau, G. L.; de Lima, M. C.; Nascimento, V.; de Cerqueira, E. M.; de Lima, M. M.; Mascarenhas, D. L.; Neto, J. P. Moura; Levin, A. S.; Tozetto-Mendoza, T. R.; Fon...

Abstract

Transmission of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas was first confirmed in May 2015 in northeast Brazil1. Brazil has had the highest number of reported ZIKV cases worldwide (more than 200,000 by 24 December 20162) and the most cases associated with microcephaly and other birth defects (2,366 confirmed by 31 December 20162). Since the initial detection of ZIKV in Brazil, more than 45 countries in the Americas have reported local ZIKV transmission, with 24 of these reporting severe ZIKV-associated disease3. However, the origin and epidemic history of ZIKV in Brazil and the Americas remain poorly understood, despite the value of this information for interpreting observed trends in reported microcephaly. Here we address this issue by generating 54 complete or partial ZIKV genomes, mostly from Brazil, and reporting data generated by a mobile genomics laboratory that travelled across northeast Brazil in 2016. One sequence represents the earliest confirmed ZIKV infection in Brazil. Analyses of viral genomes with ecological and epidemiological data yield an estimate that ZIKV was present in northeast Brazil by February 2014 and is likely to have disseminated from there, nationally and internationally, before the first detection of ZIKV in the Americas. Estimated dates for the international spread of ZIKV from Brazil indicate the duration of pre-detection cryptic transmission in recipient regions. The role of northeast Brazil in the establishment of ZIKV in the Americas is further supported by geographic analysis of ZIKV transmission potential and by estimates of the basic reproduction number of the virus.

Citation

Faria, N. R., Quick, J., Claro, I., Thézé, J., de Jesus, J. G., Giovanetti, M., …Pybus, O. G. (2017). Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas. Nature, 546(7658), 406-410. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22401

• Journal Article Type: Letter
• Acceptance Date: May 2, 2017
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2017
• Publication Date: Jun 15, 2017
• Deposit Date: Dec 14, 2020
• Journal: Nature
• Print ISSN: 0028-0836
• Electronic ISSN: 1476-4687
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 546
• Issue: 7658
• Pages: 406-410
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22401
• Keywords: Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1442403
• Additional Information: Received: 8 February 2017; Accepted: 2 May 2017; First Online: 24 May 2017; Change Date: 14 June 2017; Change Type: Correction; Change Details: Affiliations were corrected for authors A.C.d.C. and T.B; minor changes were made to the Fig. 4 and Extended Data Fig. 4 legends; some reference renumbering and minor edits were made to the Methods.; : N.J.L. received speaking fees from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) and has received free-of-charge reagents in support of the ZiBRA project from ONT. O.G.P. receives consultancy income from Metabiota Inc, California, USA. C.Y.C. is the director of the UCSF-Abbott Viral Diagnostics and Discovery Center and receives research support from Abbott Laboratories, Inc.