Authors
Julien Thézé, Tony Li, Louis Du Plessis, Jerome Bouquet, Moritz UG Kraemer, Sneha Somasekar, Guixia Yu, Mariateresa de Cesare, Angel Balmaseda, Guillermina Kuan, Eva Harris, Chieh-hsi Wu, M Azim Ansari, Rory Bowden, Nuno R Faria, Shigeo Yagi, Sharon Messenger, Trevor Brooks, Mars Stone, Evan M Bloch, Michael Busch, José E Muñoz-Medina, Cesar R González-Bonilla, Steven Wolinsky, Susana López, Carlos F Arias, David Bonsall, Charles Y Chiu, Oliver G Pybus
Publication date
2018/6/13
Journal
Cell host & microbe
Volume
23
Issue
6
Pages
855-864. e7
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in the Americas established ZIKV as a major public health threat and uncovered its association with severe diseases, including microcephaly. However, genetic epidemiology in some at-risk regions, particularly Central America and Mexico, remains limited. We report 61 ZIKV genomes from this region, generated using metagenomic sequencing with ZIKV-specific enrichment, and combine phylogenetic, epidemiological, and environmental data to reconstruct ZIKV transmission. These analyses revealed multiple independent ZIKV introductions to Central America and Mexico. One introduction, likely from Brazil via Honduras, led to most infections and the undetected spread of ZIKV through the region from late 2014. Multiple lines of evidence indicate biannual peaks of ZIKV transmission in the region, likely driven by varying local environmental conditions for mosquito vectors and herd …
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Scholar articles