TY - JOUR
T1 - Travel-associated international spread of Oropouche virus beyond the Amazon
AU - Iani, Felipe Campos de Melo
AU - Pereira, Felicidade Mota
AU - Oliveira, Elaine Cristina de
AU - Rodrigues, Janete Taynã Nascimento
AU - Machado, Mariza Hoffmann
AU - Fonseca, Vagner
AU - Adelino, Talita Emile Ribeiro
AU - Guimarães, Natalia Rocha
AU - Tomé, Luiz Marcelo Ribeiro
AU - Gómez, Marcela Kelly Astete
AU - Nardy, Vanessa Brandão
AU - Ribeiro, Adriana Aparecida
AU - Rosewell, Alexander
AU - Ferreira, Álvaro Gil A.
AU - Mello, Arabela Leal e Silva de
AU - Fernandes, Brenda Machado Moura
AU - Albuquerque, Carlos Frederico Campelo de
AU - Pereira, Dejanira dos Santos
AU - Pimentel, Eline Carvalho
AU - Lima, Fábio Guilherme Mesquita
AU - Silva, Fernanda Viana Moreira
AU - Pereira, Glauco de Carvalho
AU - Tegally, Houriiyah
AU - Almeida, Júlia Deffune Profeta Cidin
AU - Moreno, Keldenn Melo Farias
AU - Vasconcelos, Klaucia Rodrigues
AU - Santos, Leandro Cavalcante
AU - Silva, Lívia Cristina Machado
AU - Frutuoso, Livia C. V.
AU - Lamounier, Ludmila Oliveira
AU - Costa, Mariana Araújo
AU - Oliveira, Marília Santini de
AU - Anjos, Marlei Pickler Dediasi dos
AU - Ciccozzi, Massimo
AU - Lima, Maurício Teixeira
AU - Pereira, Maira Alves
AU - Rocha, Marília Lima Cruz
AU - Silva, Paulo Eduardo de Souza da
AU - Rabinowitz, Peter M.
AU - Almeida, Priscila Souza de
AU - Lessells, Richard
AU - Gazzinelli, Ricardo T.
AU - Cunha, Rivaldo Venancio da
AU - Gonçalves, Sabrina
AU - Santos, Sara Cândida Ferreira dos
AU - Belettini, Senele Ana de Alcântara
AU - Pedroso, Silvia Helena Sousa Pietra
AU - Araújo, Sofia Isabel Rótulo
AU - Silva, Stephanni Figueiredo da
AU - Croda, Julio
AU - Maciel, Ethel
AU - Voorhis, Wes Van
AU - Martin, Darren P.
AU - Holmes, Edward C.
AU - Oliveira, Tulio de
AU - Lourenço, José
AU - Alcantara, Luiz Carlos Junior
AU - Giovanetti, Marta
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/4/1
Y1 - 2025/4/1
N2 - Oropouche virus (OROV), first detected in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, was historically confined to the Brazilian Amazon Basin. However, since late 2022, an increasing number of OROV cases have been reported across various regions of Brazil as well as in urban centers in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, and Peru. In collaboration with Central Public Health Laboratories across Brazil, we integrated epidemiological metadata with genomic analyses from recent cases, generating 133 whole-genome sequences covering the virus’s three genomic segments (L, M, and S). These include the first genomes from regions outside the Amazon and from the first recorded fatal cases. Phylogenetic analyses show that the 2024 OROV genomes form a monophyletic group with sequences from the Amazon Basin sampled since 2022, revealing a rapid north-to-south viral movement into historically non-endemic areas. We identified 21 reassortment events, though it remains unclear whether these genomic changes have facilitated viral adaptation to local ecological conditions or contributed to phenotypic traits of public health significance. Our findings demonstrate how OROV has evolved through reassortment and spread rapidly across multiple states in Brazil, leading to the largest outbreak ever recorded outside the Amazon and the first confirmed fatalities. Additionally, by analysing travel-related cases, we provide the first insights into the international spread of OROV beyond Brazil, further highlighting the role of human mobility in its dissemination. The virus’s recent rapid geographic expansion and the emergence of severe cases emphasize the urgent need for enhanced surveillance across the Americas. In the absence of significant human population changes over the past two years, factors such as viral adaptation, deforestation, and climate shifts—either individually or in combination— may have facilitated the spread of OROV beyond the Amazon Basin through both local and travel-associated transmission.
AB - Oropouche virus (OROV), first detected in Trinidad and Tobago in 1955, was historically confined to the Brazilian Amazon Basin. However, since late 2022, an increasing number of OROV cases have been reported across various regions of Brazil as well as in urban centers in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, and Peru. In collaboration with Central Public Health Laboratories across Brazil, we integrated epidemiological metadata with genomic analyses from recent cases, generating 133 whole-genome sequences covering the virus’s three genomic segments (L, M, and S). These include the first genomes from regions outside the Amazon and from the first recorded fatal cases. Phylogenetic analyses show that the 2024 OROV genomes form a monophyletic group with sequences from the Amazon Basin sampled since 2022, revealing a rapid north-to-south viral movement into historically non-endemic areas. We identified 21 reassortment events, though it remains unclear whether these genomic changes have facilitated viral adaptation to local ecological conditions or contributed to phenotypic traits of public health significance. Our findings demonstrate how OROV has evolved through reassortment and spread rapidly across multiple states in Brazil, leading to the largest outbreak ever recorded outside the Amazon and the first confirmed fatalities. Additionally, by analysing travel-related cases, we provide the first insights into the international spread of OROV beyond Brazil, further highlighting the role of human mobility in its dissemination. The virus’s recent rapid geographic expansion and the emergence of severe cases emphasize the urgent need for enhanced surveillance across the Americas. In the absence of significant human population changes over the past two years, factors such as viral adaptation, deforestation, and climate shifts—either individually or in combination— may have facilitated the spread of OROV beyond the Amazon Basin through both local and travel-associated transmission.
KW - Amazon basin
KW - Brazil
KW - Orov
KW - Genomic surveillance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105001729253&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jtm/taaf018
DO - 10.1093/jtm/taaf018
M3 - Article
C2 - 40037296
SN - 1195-1982
VL - 32
JO - Journal of Travel Medicine
JF - Journal of Travel Medicine
IS - 3
M1 - taaf018
ER -