Arbovirus circulation in São Paulo state

• Grant number: 24/05847-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Guido Alberto Konig
• Grantee: Guido Alberto Konig
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: ANTONIO CARLOS CRUZ MACEDO ; Ester Cerdeira Sabino ; Fabíola de Souza Lemes dos Santos ; Liria Hiromi Okuda ; Mauro Toledo Marrelli ; Paulo Eduardo Brandão ; Ricardo Augusto Dias ; Sheila Oliveira de Souza ; Sueli Akemi Taniwaki Miyagi ; Trícia Maria Ferreira de Sousa Oliveira

Abstract

In the last decades, there have been multiple examples of vector-borne pathogens' emergence or re-emergence affecting animal and public health. Among them, the arboviruses have an outstanding position. These viruses are usually kept in a cycle that involves wild birds, rodents, or other mammals, and different species of mosquitoes of the genera Culex and Aedes, among others, as reservoirs. Some arboviruses have a greater impact on hosts other than humans, affecting production animals such as cattle and horses. In Brazil, these diseases have occurred sporadically in recent years. However, as the country has ideal ecological and environmental conditions for mosquito reproduction, the risk of emergence or re-emergence of diseases must be monitored.The high levels of seropositivity for several of these diseases, both in livestock and humans, the different virus isolations over the past decades, combined with the scarce reports of epizootics by veterinarians, strongly suggest the presence of asymptomatic or subclinical infections. In this scenario, monitoring the presence of the virus and increasing surveillance are priorities for public and animal health.In this study, we will investigate the presence of arboviruses of the genera Alpha, Flavi and Orbivirus in their mosquito vectors in the state of São Paulo. Other arboviruses have been studied in recent years with a similar methodological proposal, which consists of collecting mosquitoes in different locations in the State of São Paulo, detecting the virus in the vector by PCR, amplifying and sequencing the partial or complete genome of the virus, and establishing phylogenetic relationships with other previously reported viruses. In addition, it is proposed to study the natural viriome present in these vectors and the diversity of their target animals using female engorged mosquitoes. (AU)