Maguari Virus Associated with Human Disease

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. 1325 - 1331
• Main Authors: Groseth, Allison, Vine, Veronica, Weisend, Carla, Guevara, Carolina, Watts, Douglas, Russell, Brandy, Tesh, Robert B, Ebihara, Hideki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01.08.2017; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Amino acids; bunyavirus; Cache Valley virus; Fort Sherman virus; Genomes; Genomics; Health aspects; Infection; Maguari virus; Maguari Virus Associated with Human Disease; Playas virus; Tlacotalpan virus; Argentina; South America; Central America; French Guiana; United States; Cache Valley virus; Fort Sherman virus; Paraguay; Panama; Playas virus; arboviruses; Brazil; orthobunyavirus; mosquitoes; Colombia; Ecuador; Argentina; viruses; disease; Maguari virus; Tlacotalpan virus; vector-borne infections; bunyavirus; Mexico; phylogeny; Peru; human infection
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid2308.161254

Despite the lack of evidence for symptomatic human infection with Maguari virus (MAGV), its close relation to Cache Valley virus (CVV), which does infect humans, remains a concern. We sequenced the complete genome of a MAGV-like isolate (OBS6657) obtained from a febrile patient in Pucallpa, Ucayali, Peru, in 1998. To facilitate its classification, we generated additional full-length sequences for the MAGV prototype strain, 3 additional MAGV-like isolates, and the closely related CVV (7 strains), Tlacotalpan (1 strain), Playas (3 strains), and Fort Sherman (1 strain) viruses. The OBS6657 isolate is similar to the MAGV prototype, whereas 2 of the other MAGV-like isolates are located on a distinct branch and most likely warrant classification as a separate virus species and 1 is, in fact, a misclassified CVV strain. Our findings provide clear evidence that MAGV can cause human disease.