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. 2023 Sep 20;12(9):1182.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens12091182.

Phylogenetic Investigations of Dengue 2019-2021 Outbreak in Guadeloupe and Martinique Caribbean Islands

Margot Garcia-Van Smévoorde  1 , Géraldine Piorkowski  2   3   4 , Loic Emboulé  5 , Georges Dos Santos  6   7   8 , Cécile Loraux  9 , Stéphanie Guyomard-Rabenirina  10 , Marie-Odile Joannes  11 , Laurence Fagour  6 , Fatiha Najioullah  12 , André Cabié  7   8   13 , Xavier de Lamballerie  2   3 , Anubis Vega-Rúa  1 , Raymond Césaire  7   8   9 , Elodie Calvez  1
Affiliations

Phylogenetic Investigations of Dengue 2019-2021 Outbreak in Guadeloupe and Martinique Caribbean Islands

Margot Garcia-Van Smévoorde et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Dengue fever has been a public health problem in the Caribbean region since 1981, when it first reappeared in Cuba. In 1989, it was reported in Martinique and Guadeloupe (two French islands 200 km apart); since then, DENV has caused several epidemics locally. In 2019-2021, DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-3 were detected. Serotype distribution was differentiated, with DENV-2 and DENV-3 predominating in Guadeloupe and Martinique, respectively. Complete genome sequencing was carried out on 32 specimens, and phylogenic analysis identified the circulation of genotype V for DENV-1, cosmopolitan genotype for DENV-2, and genotype III for DENV-3. However, two distinct circulating groups were identified for DENV-1 and DENV-3, suggesting independent introductions. Overall, despite the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated travel restrictions, these results confirm the active circulation of DENV and specific epidemiological features on each of the two islands. Such differences may be linked to the founder effect of the various introduction events, and to local factors such as the population immunity and the transmission capacity of the vectors. Further genomic and epidemiological characterization of DENV strains remains essential to understand how dengue spreads in each specific geographical context and to prevent future epidemics.

Keywords: Caribbean; Guadeloupe; Martinique; dengue; outbreak; phylogeny.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Dynamics of DENV circulation in (A) Guadeloupe (N = 682) and (B) Martinique (N = 2546) during 2019–2021 epidemic.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of DENV-1 from French Territories of America. Tree was built with complete genomes (length 10,665 bp). Bootstrap values are shown on branch nodes. Scale bar indicates the nucleotide substitution per site. The Guadeloupe strains sequenced in this study are indicated in blue.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of DENV-2 from French Territories of America. Tree was built with complete genomes (length 10,667 bp). Bootstrap values are shown on branch nodes. Scale bar indicates the nucleotide substitution per site. The Guadeloupe strains sequenced in this study are indicated in dark purple, and the Martinique strains in light purple.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of DENV-3 from Guadeloupe and Martinique. The tree was built with complete genomes (length 10,649 bp). Bootstrap values are shown on branch nodes. The scale bar indicates the nucleotide substitution per site. The Guadeloupe strains sequenced in this study are indicated in dark green, and the Martinique strains are in light green.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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