Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Early 2019, a chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Though seldomly deadly, this mosquito-borne disease presents as an acute febrile (poly)arthralgia often followed by long-term sequelae. Although Aedes aegypti is the primary vector, an amino acid substit...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2020-01-01
|
| Series: | Emerging Microbes and Infections |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1810135 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850186998434758656 |
|---|---|
| author | Philippe Selhorst Sheila Makiala-Mandanda Birgit De Smet Joachim Mariën Colin Anthony Guillaume Binene-Mbuka Anja De Weggheleire Gillon Ilombe Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu Leopold Lubula Placide Mbala-Kingebeni Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye Florian Vogt Francis Watsenga Wim Van Bortel Veerle Vanlerberghe Kevin K. Ariën Steve Ahuka-Mundeke |
| author_facet | Philippe Selhorst Sheila Makiala-Mandanda Birgit De Smet Joachim Mariën Colin Anthony Guillaume Binene-Mbuka Anja De Weggheleire Gillon Ilombe Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu Leopold Lubula Placide Mbala-Kingebeni Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye Florian Vogt Francis Watsenga Wim Van Bortel Veerle Vanlerberghe Kevin K. Ariën Steve Ahuka-Mundeke |
| author_sort | Philippe Selhorst |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Early 2019, a chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Though seldomly deadly, this mosquito-borne disease presents as an acute febrile (poly)arthralgia often followed by long-term sequelae. Although Aedes aegypti is the primary vector, an amino acid substitution in the viral envelope gene E1 (A226V) is causing concern as it results in increased transmission by Aedes albopictus, a mosquito with a much wider geographical distribution. Between January and March 2019, we collected human and mosquito samples in Kinshasa and Kongo Central province (Kasangulu and Matadi). Of the patients that were tested within 7 days of symptom onset, 49.7% (87/175) were RT–qPCR positive, while in the mosquito samples CHIKV was found in 1/2 pools in Kinshasa, 5/6 pools in Kasangulu, and 8/26 pools in Matadi. Phylogenetic analysis on whole-genome sequences showed that the circulating strain formed a monophyletic group within the ECSA2 lineage and harboured the A226V mutation. Our sequences did not cluster with sequences from previously reported outbreaks in the DRC nor with other known A226V-containing ECSA2 strains. This indicates a scenario of convergent evolution where A226V was acquired independently in response to a similar selection pressure for transmission by Ae. albopictus. This is in line with our entomological data where we detected Ae. albopictus more frequently than Ae. aegypti in two out of three affected areas. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CHIKV is adapting to the increased presence of Aedes albopictus in DRC. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e7d256e1201488d947701bb74a5d174 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2222-1751 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Emerging Microbes and Infections |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e7d256e1201488d947701bb74a5d1742025-08-20T02:16:13ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEmerging Microbes and Infections2222-17512020-01-01911912191810.1080/22221751.2020.1810135Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the CongoPhilippe Selhorst0Sheila Makiala-Mandanda1Birgit De Smet2Joachim Mariën3Colin Anthony4Guillaume Binene-Mbuka5Anja De Weggheleire6Gillon Ilombe7Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki8Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu9Leopold Lubula10Placide Mbala-Kingebeni11Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye12Florian Vogt13Francis Watsenga14Wim Van Bortel15Veerle Vanlerberghe16Kevin K. Ariën17Steve Ahuka-Mundeke18Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoThe Outbreak Research Team, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumThe Outbreak Research Team, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Disease, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaDepartment of Entomology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoThe Outbreak Research Team, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Entomology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDirection Generale de Lutte contre la Maladie (DGLM), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoThe Outbreak Research Team, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Entomology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, BelgiumDepartment of Virology, Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoEarly 2019, a chikungunya virus (CHIKV) outbreak hit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Though seldomly deadly, this mosquito-borne disease presents as an acute febrile (poly)arthralgia often followed by long-term sequelae. Although Aedes aegypti is the primary vector, an amino acid substitution in the viral envelope gene E1 (A226V) is causing concern as it results in increased transmission by Aedes albopictus, a mosquito with a much wider geographical distribution. Between January and March 2019, we collected human and mosquito samples in Kinshasa and Kongo Central province (Kasangulu and Matadi). Of the patients that were tested within 7 days of symptom onset, 49.7% (87/175) were RT–qPCR positive, while in the mosquito samples CHIKV was found in 1/2 pools in Kinshasa, 5/6 pools in Kasangulu, and 8/26 pools in Matadi. Phylogenetic analysis on whole-genome sequences showed that the circulating strain formed a monophyletic group within the ECSA2 lineage and harboured the A226V mutation. Our sequences did not cluster with sequences from previously reported outbreaks in the DRC nor with other known A226V-containing ECSA2 strains. This indicates a scenario of convergent evolution where A226V was acquired independently in response to a similar selection pressure for transmission by Ae. albopictus. This is in line with our entomological data where we detected Ae. albopictus more frequently than Ae. aegypti in two out of three affected areas. In conclusion, our findings suggest that CHIKV is adapting to the increased presence of Aedes albopictus in DRC.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1810135ChikungunyaCHIKVA226VAedes albopictusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDRC |
| spellingShingle | Philippe Selhorst Sheila Makiala-Mandanda Birgit De Smet Joachim Mariën Colin Anthony Guillaume Binene-Mbuka Anja De Weggheleire Gillon Ilombe Eddy Kinganda-Lusamaki Elisabeth Pukuta-Simbu Leopold Lubula Placide Mbala-Kingebeni Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye Florian Vogt Francis Watsenga Wim Van Bortel Veerle Vanlerberghe Kevin K. Ariën Steve Ahuka-Mundeke Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Emerging Microbes and Infections Chikungunya CHIKV A226V Aedes albopictus Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC |
| title | Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_full | Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_fullStr | Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_short | Molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| title_sort | molecular characterization of chikungunya virus during the 2019 outbreak in the democratic republic of the congo |
| topic | Chikungunya CHIKV A226V Aedes albopictus Democratic Republic of the Congo DRC |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/22221751.2020.1810135 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT philippeselhorst molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT sheilamakialamandanda molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT birgitdesmet molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT joachimmarien molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT colinanthony molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT guillaumebinenembuka molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT anjadeweggheleire molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT gillonilombe molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT eddykingandalusamaki molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT elisabethpukutasimbu molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT leopoldlubula molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT placidembalakingebeni molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT antoinenkubandaye molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT florianvogt molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT franciswatsenga molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT wimvanbortel molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT veerlevanlerberghe molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT kevinkarien molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo AT steveahukamundeke molecularcharacterizationofchikungunyavirusduringthe2019outbreakinthedemocraticrepublicofthecongo |