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

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1419637

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1419637

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=Mayaro Fever (MF) is a tropical disease caused by the Mayaro virus (MAYV), with outbreaks documented in Latin America. A hospital-based fever surveillance in Leticia, Colombian Amazon, collected sera from 1460 patients aged 5 to 89 between December 2020 and April 2023. 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 mayaro fever including rash, joint pain, and fever. Phylogenetics analysis of these two viruses revealed a close relationship to Peruvian strains within the MAYV D genotype. This study presents the first near fulllength 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.