Isolation of Complete Equine Encephalitis Virus Genome from Human Swab Specimen, Peru

Abstract

While studying respiratory infections in Peru, we identified Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) in a nasopharyngeal swab, indicating that this alphavirus can be present in human respiratory secretions. Because VEEV may be infectious when aerosolized, our finding is relevant for the management of VEEV-infected patients and for VEEV transmission studies.

Keywords: Peru; VEEV; Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus; complete genome; next-generation sequencing; pathogen discovery; vector-borne infections; viruses.

Figure

Testing for respiratory pathogens in a 16-year-old boy in Iquitos, Peru. A) Testing algorithm showing the types of samples collected during both acute- and convalescent-phase periods, the tests performed on each, and the results (in parentheses). B) Depth of coverage plot and schematic representation of the isolated VEEV genome, including all genes (nsP1, nsP2, nsP3, nsP4, C, E3, E2, 6K, and E1), drawn to approximate scale. Genomic information for this isolate has been deposited in GenBank (accession no. MF590066). Flu, influenza virus; IIF, indirect immunofluorescence; NGS, next-generation sequencing; VEEV, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus.