Molecular Epidemiology of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus, South America, 2023-2024

Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Sep;30(9):1834-1840. doi: 10.3201/eid3009.240530.

Abstract

Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) is a mosquitoborne virus that reemerged in December 2023 in Argentina and Uruguay, causing a major outbreak. We investigated the outbreak using epidemiologic, entomological, and genomic analyses, focusing on WEEV circulation near the Argentina‒Uruguay border in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. During November 2023‒April 2024, the outbreak in Argentina and Uruguay resulted in 217 human cases, 12 of which were fatal, and 2,548 equine cases. We determined cases on the basis of laboratory and clinical epidemiologic criteria. We characterized 3 fatal equine cases caused by a novel WEEV lineage identified through a nearly complete coding sequence analysis, which we propose as lineage C. Our findings highlight the importance of continued surveillance and equine vaccination to control future WEEV outbreaks in South America.

Keywords: Argentina; Brazil; South America; Uruguay; Western equine encephalitis virus; alphavirus; arbovirus; central nervous system infection; meningitis/encephalitis; mosquito-borne alphavirus; vector-borne infections; viruses; zoonoses.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Argentina / epidemiology
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Encephalitis Virus, Western Equine* / genetics
  • Encephalomyelitis, Equine / epidemiology
  • Encephalomyelitis, Equine / veterinary
  • Encephalomyelitis, Equine / virology
  • Encephalomyelitis, Western Equine / epidemiology
  • Encephalomyelitis, Western Equine / virology
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Molecular Epidemiology*
  • Phylogeny*
  • South America / epidemiology
  • Uruguay / epidemiology