Multiple introductions and country-wide spread of DENV-2 genotype II (Cosmopolitan) in Brazil

• Published in: Virus evolution Vol. 9; no. 2; p. vead059
• Main Authors: Gräf, Tiago, Ferreira, Caroline Do Nascimento, de Lima, Gustavo Barbosa, de Lima, Raul Emídio, Machado, Lais Ceschini, Campos, Tulio de Lima, Schemberger, Michelle Orane, Faoro, Helisson, Paiva, Marcelo Henrique Santos, Bezerra, Matheus Filgueira, Nascimento, Valdinete, Souza, Victor, Nascimento, Fernanda, Mejía, Matilde, Silva, Dejanane, de Oliveira, Yasmin Silva, Gonçalves, Luciana, Ramos, Tatyana Costa Amorim, de Castro, Daniel Barros, Arcanjo, Ana Ruth, Dantas, Herton Augusto Pinheiro, Presibella, Mayra Marinho, Fernandes, Sandra Bianchini, Gregianini, Tatiana Schaffer, Paz E Silva, Keilla Maria, Sacchi, Claudio Tavares, Cruz, Ana Cecília Ribeiro, Duarte dos Santos, Claudia Nunes, Bispo de Filippis, Ana Maria, Bello, Gonzalo, Wallau, Gabriel Luz, Salvato, Richard Steiner, Naveca, Felipe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: UK Oxford University Press 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Brazil; dengue virus serotype 2; genotype Cosmopolitan; genomic surveillance; phylogeography
• ISSN: 2057-1577; 2057-1577
• DOI: 10.1093/ve/vead059

Abstract Dengue virus serotype 2, genotype Cosmopolitan (DENV-2-GII), is one of the most widespread DENV strains globally. In the USA, DENV-2 epidemics have been dominated by DENV-2 genotype Asian-American (DENV-2-GIII), and the first cases of DENV-2-GII were only described in 2019, in Peru, and in 2021 in Brazil. To gain new information about the circulation of DENV-2-GII in Brazil, we sequenced 237 DENV-2 confirmed cases sampled between March 2021 and March 2023 and revealed that DENV-2-GII is already present in all geographic regions of Brazil. The phylogeographic analysis inferred that DENV-2-GII was introduced at least four times in Brazil, between May 2020 and August 2022, generating multiple clades that spread throughout the country with different success. Despite multiple introductions of DENV-2-GII, analysis of the country-wide laboratory surveillance data showed that the Brazilian dengue epidemic in 2022 was dominated by DENV-1 in most states. We hypothesize that massive circulation of DENV-2-GIII in previous years in Brazil might have created a population immune barrier against symptomatic homotypic reinfections by DENV-2-GII, leading to sustained cryptic circulation in asymptomatic cases and localized outbreaks of this new genotype. In summary, our study stresses the importance of arboviral genomic surveillance to close monitoring and better understanding the potential impact of DENV-2-GII in the coming years.