Air Travel Is Associated with Intracontinental Spread of Dengue Virus Serotypes 1-3 in Brazil

Marcio R.T. Nunes, Gustavo Palacios, Nuno Rodrigues Faria, Edivaldo Costa Sousa, Jamilla A. Pantoja, Sueli G. Rodrigues, Valéria L. Carvalho, Daniele B.A. Medeiros, Nazir Savji, Guy Baele, Marc A. Suchard, Philippe Lemey, Pedro F.C. Vasconcelos, W. Ian Lipkin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dengue virus and its four serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4) infect 390 million people and are implicated in at least 25,000 deaths annually, with the largest disease burden in tropical and subtropical regions. We investigated the spatial dynamics of DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-3 in Brazil by applying a statistical framework to complete genome sequences. For all three serotypes, we estimated that the introduction of new lineages occurred within 7 to 10-year intervals. New lineages were most likely to be imported from the Caribbean region to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, and then to disperse at a rate of approximately 0.5 km/day. Joint statistical analysis of evolutionary, epidemiological and ecological data indicates that aerial transportation of humans and/or vector mosquitoes, rather than Aedes aegypti infestation rates or geographical distances, determine dengue virus spread in Brazil.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2769
JournalPLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2014
Externally publishedYes

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