Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec;4(4):208-217.
doi: 10.1007/s40588-017-0076-4. Epub 2017 Oct 19.

Examining the potential for South American arboviruses to spread beyond the New World

Víctor Hugo Peña-García  1 , Michael K McCracken  2 , Rebecca C Christofferson  3
Affiliations

Examining the potential for South American arboviruses to spread beyond the New World

Víctor Hugo Peña-García et al. Curr Clin Microbiol Rep. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Zika and chikungunya viruses emerged as public health emergencies in the Western Hemisphere where previously they had not been reported on a large scale. Millions were infected as the viruses met with virtually no herd immunity upon emergence.

Purpose of the review: We explore the histories of these two recent arbovirus experiences in South America. We then review similarly three endemic South American viruses: yellow fever, Oropouche, and Mayaro viruses.

Recent findings: We discuss the commonalities of the transmission systems and the possibility of an atypical emergence, that of New World virus to the Old World.

Summary: We discuss the avenues for research that would increase preparedness and efficiency of response should a South American arbovirus emerge in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Keywords: Mayaro; Oropouche; Zika; chikungunya; emerging viruses; yellow fever.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Weaver SC, Reisen WK. Present and future arboviral threats. Antiviral Res. 2010;85(2):328–45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liang G, Gao X, Gould EA. Factors responsible for the emergence of arboviruses; strategies, challenges and limitations for their control. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2015;4(3):e18. These two papers review the recent emergence of arboviruses threats and the potential environmental and anthropologic factors contributing to the seeming increase in emergence events. Marcondes takes a vector-centric view while Liang discusses anthropologic history and present issues contributing to arbovirus emergence. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cao-Lormeau VM, Musso D. Emerging arboviruses in the Pacific. Lancet. 2014;384(9954):1571–2. - PubMed
    1. Morens DM, Fauci AS. Emerging infectious diseases: threats to human health and global stability. PLoS Pathog. 2013;9(7):e1003467. This reference highlights the overarching problem of a lack of preparedness to tackle emerging diseases of public health concern, regardless of the pathogen. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kuno G. A Re-Examination of the History of Etiologic Confusion between Dengue and Chikungunya. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(11):e0004101. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources