Fundação Oswaldo Cruz reports that the global genotype of serotype 2 dengue virus was first detected in Brazil. The arrival of this strain worries researchers, because there is a possibility that it will spread more efficiently than the Asian-American strain, also known as genotype 3 and serotype 2, which is currently circulating in the country.
The breed, which is the most widespread in the world and is found in Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, has never been found on the Brazilian territory. The genotype was identified in Aparecida de Goiânia (GO) and represents the second official record of this type in the Americas, after the outbreak in Peru in 2019.
The detection was led by IOC/Fiocruz (the Oswaldo Cruz Institute) in partnership with Lacen-GO (Goiás Central Public Health Laboratory) and the discovery was made in February from a sample of a dengue case from the end of November last year.
According to a note issued by Vuecruz, the case was immediately reported to the municipal and state health departments and the Ministry of Health.
However, the strain, according to the team, is not responsible for the outbreak of dengue fever in Goiás and everything indicates that it was quickly identified, which could help control its spread.
We still do not know how the global genotype will spread in Brazil. Worldwide, it is more distributed and causes more cases than the Asian-American genotype, which has been prevalent in Brazil for years. The overall picture indicates that the global strain has the ability to spread easily Luis Carlos Jr. Alcantara, researcher in the laboratory flavivirus from International Olympic Committee/ Viecruz, in a statement
Analyzes carried out in Brazil show that the strain found is similar to two types of microorganisms isolated during the outbreak recorded in Madre de Dios Province, Peru. However, it is still not possible to say that the universal genotype was introduced into Brazil from the neighboring country. It is suspected that it arrived from Asia via a transcontinental flight.
Researchers published an article on the preprint platform medRvix, a way to quickly disseminate results, prior to the peer review process. The work has also been submitted for publication in a scientific journal and is now under review.
Scientists point out that one of the key measures to contain the spread of dengue is the elimination of stagnant water deposits, which can become breeding sites for mosquitoes. Aedes aegypti disease carrier.
In addition to dengue control measures, the researchers stress the importance of intensifying genetic surveillance of the disease to map the potential global course of the strain and better understand the ways the virus was introduced into the country.
* With Brazil Agency
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