Mayaro Virus as the cause of Acute Febrile Illness in the Colombian Amazon Basin

Laura S Perez-Restrepo; Karl Ciuoderis; Jaime Usuga; Isabel Moreno; Vanessa Vargas; Angela J Arévalo-Arbelaez; Michael G Berg; Gavin A Cloherty; Juan Pablo Hernández-Ortiz; Jorge E Osorio

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1419637

Mayaro Virus as the cause of Acute Febrile Illness in the Colombian Amazon Basin

Front Microbiol. 2024 Jul 9:15:1419637. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1419637. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Laura S Perez-Restrepo^#^{1

2}, Karl Ciuoderis^#^{1

2}, Jaime Usuga^{1

2}, Isabel Moreno^{1

2}, Vanessa Vargas^{1

2}, Angela J Arévalo-Arbelaez^{1

2}, Michael G Berg^{2

3}, Gavin A Cloherty^{2

3}, Juan Pablo Hernández-Ortiz^{1

2

4}, Jorge E Osorio^{1

2

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ GHI One Health Colombia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
² Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, Chicago, IL, United States.
³ Infectious Diseases Research, Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL, United States.
⁴ Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
⁵ Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.
⁶ Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Mayaro Fever (MF) is a tropical disease caused by the Mayaro virus (MAYV), with outbreaks documented in Latin America.

Methods: A hospital-based fever surveillance in Leticia, Colombian Amazon, collected sera from 1,460 patients aged 5-89 between December 2020 and April 2023.

Results: Dengue and malaria were the main diagnoses (19.4 and 5.8%, respectively), leaving 71.4% of cases unidentified after testing. Metagenomic sequencing and real-time RT-qPCR testing identified MAYV in two patients (25-year-old male and an 80-year-old female) exhibiting typical symptoms, of MF including rash, joint pain, and fever. Phylogenetics analysis of these two viruses revealed a close relationship to Peruvian strains within the MAYV D genotype.

Discussion: The study of AFI in Leticia, Colombia, identified dengue as prevalent, with malaria, COVID-19, Influenza, and Zika viruses also detected. Despite extensive testing, most cases remained unexplained until metagenomic sequencing revealed MAYV, previously unseen in Colombia but known in neighboring countries.

Conclusion: This study presents the first near full-length genomes of MAYV in Colombia, highlighting the need for further seroprevalence studies and enhanced surveillance to understand and control the spread of the virus in the region.

Keywords: Acute Febrile Illness; Colombia; Mayaro Virus; fever; whole genome sequencing.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the University of Wisconsin-Madison GHI One Health Colombia, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Medellin), and the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition. Thanks to Fundacion Sofia Perez de Soto and Fundacion Fraternidad Medellin for supporting postgraduate students involved in this work.