Molecular epidemiology of Western equine encephalitis virus in Brazil, 2023-2024.
Aline Alves Scarpellini CamposAna Claúdia FrancoFernanda GodinhoRosana HuffJader da Cruz CardosoPaola MoraisCarolina FranceschinaThales de Lima BermannFranciellen Machado Dos SantosMilena BauermannTainá Machado SelayaranAmanda Pellenz RuivoCristiane SantinJuciane BonellaCarla RodenbuschJosé Carlos FerreiraScott C WeaverVilar Ricardo GewehrGabriel da Luz WallauWilliam Marciel de SouzaRichard Steiner SalvatoPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2024)
During the ongoing western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) outbreak in South America, we described three fatal cases in horses from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We sequenced WEEV strains and identified a novel lineage causing these cases. Continued surveillance and horse immunization are needed to mitigate the WEEV burden.