Potential geographic distribution of Hantavirus reservoirs in Brazil

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is an emerging zoonosis in Brazil. Human infections occur via inhalation of aerosolized viral particles from excreta of infected wild rodents. Necromys lasiurus and Oligoryzomys nigripes appear to be the main reservoirs of hantavirus in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. We estimated and compared ecological niches of the two rodent species, and analyzed environmental factors influencing their occurrence, to understand the geography of hantavirus transmission. N. lasiurus showed a wide potential distribution in Brazil, in the Cerrado, Caatinga, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Highest climate suitability for O. nigripes was observed along the Brazilian Atlantic coast. Maximum temperature in the warmest months and annual precipitation were the variables that most influence the distributions of N. lasiurus and O. nigripes, respectively. Models based on occurrences of infected rodents estimated a broader area of risk for hantavirus transmission in southeastern and southern Brazil, coinciding with the distribution of human cases of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. We found no demonstrable environmental differences among occurrence sites for the rodents and for human cases of hantavirus. However, areas of northern and northeastern Brazil are also apparently suitable for the two species, without broad coincidence with human cases. Modeling of niches and distributions of rodent reservoirs indicates potential for transmission of hantavirus across virtually all of Brazil outside the Amazon Basin

Electromagnetic and geochemical methods applied to investigations of hydrothermal/volcanic unrests: Examples of Taal (Philippines) and Miyake-jima (Japan) volcanoes

Magnetic, -electric and -electromagnetic phenomena (EM) are almost always observed on volcanoes before and during volcanic eruptions, if EM methods are well-designed and applied on the field. But unfortunately these methods are, most often, still used independently. They also do not benefit of dense inter-correlated networks which should allow more accurate results and fine modelling of the volcanic activity. On volcanoes which display hydrothermal/magmatic unrests, EM methods can be combined with geochemical (GC) methods. The integration of these methods allows us to image in detail hydrothermal systems, to find out possible scenarios of volcanic unrest, and to monitor the on-going activity with some knowledge on the sources of heat, gas and fluid transfers. The objectives of this paper is (1) to outline the appearance and the characteristics of EM signals before an eruptive event when multi-EM methods are applied on the field, (2) to sketch out the complementary between EM and GC methods when these methods are jointly applied on volcanic/hydrothermal systems. Two case studies are given in the paper. On Miyake-jima volcano in Japan integrated EM methods started in 1995. Although the seismicity only appeared 13 days before the July 8, 2000 collapse of the summit, changes in the magnetic field, electrical resistivity and electric potential have progressively appeared after 1996. Based on geophysical observations and on continuous magnetotelluric soundings, a synthesis of the EM observations allows proposing a coherent model of the volcano unrest. The second case study is Taal volcano in Philippines on which sporadic, but sometimes intense, seismic crises are observed since 1992. A strong and large scale hydrothermal system stands on the volcano and is periodically re-activated. Commonly applied since 2005, combined EM and GC methods give an accurate description of the hydrothermal activity and heat discharge. EM methods, as magnetic and self-potential, map the hydrothermal system and locate the source of thermal and fluid transfers at depth, while soil degassing and thermal imageries clearly point out the location of the most active areas where thermal discharges take place. GC methods also specify the origin of the gas and fluids escaping from faults, fumaroles, and geothermal areas. Between 2005 and 2007, no large change in the hydrothermal activity took place, in spite of sporadic seismic swarms and surface activities which could lead to sudden phreatic explosions. The heat discharge of the volcano is estimated and monitored with time, based on repeated surveys. Such combined EM and GC methods are now integrated in the monitoring of the slow unrest of the volcano. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Zika virus in the Americas: early epidemiological and genetic findings

Brazil has experienced an unprecedented epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV), with ~30,000 cases reported to date. ZIKV was first detected in Brazil in May 2015, and cases of microcephaly potentially associated with ZIKV infection were identified in November 2015. We performed next-generation sequencing to generate seven Brazilian ZIKV genomes sampled from four self-limited cases, one blood donor, one fatal adult case, and one newborn with microcephaly and congenital malformations. Results of phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses show a single introduction of ZIKV into the Americas, which we estimated to have occurred between May and December 2013, more than 12 months before the detection of ZIKV in Brazil. The estimated date of origin coincides with an increase in air passengers to Brazil from ZIKV-endemic areas, as well as with reported outbreaks in the Pacific Islands. ZIKV genomes from Brazil are phylogenetically interspersed with those from other South American and Caribbean countries. Mapping mutations onto existing structural models revealed the context of viral amino acid changes present in the outbreak lineage; however, no shared amino acid changes were found among the three currently available virus genomes from microcephaly cases. Municipality-level incidence data indicate that reports of suspected microcephaly in Brazil best correlate with ZIKV incidence around week 17 of pregnancy, although this correlation does not demonstrate causation. Our genetic description and analysis of ZIKV isolates in Brazil provide a baseline for future studies of the evolution and molecular epidemiology of this emerging virus in the Americas

Zika virus in the Americas: early epidemiological and genetic findings

Brazil has experienced an unprecedented epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV), with ~30,000 cases reported to date. ZIKV was first detected in Brazil in May 2015, and cases of microcephaly potentially associated with ZIKV infection were identified in November 2015. We performed next-generation sequencing to generate seven Brazilian ZIKV genomes sampled from four self-limited cases, one blood donor, one fatal adult case, and one newborn with microcephaly and congenital malformations. Results of phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses show a single introduction of ZIKV into the Americas, which we estimated to have occurred between May and December 2013, more than 12 months before the detection of ZIKV in Brazil. The estimated date of origin coincides with an increase in air passengers to Brazil from ZIKV-endemic areas, as well as with reported outbreaks in the Pacific Islands. ZIKV genomes from Brazil are phylogenetically interspersed with those from other South American and Caribbean countries. Mapping mutations onto existing structural models revealed the context of viral amino acid changes present in the outbreak lineage; however, no shared amino acid changes were found among the three currently available virus genomes from microcephaly cases. Municipality-level incidence data indicate that reports of suspected microcephaly in Brazil best correlate with ZIKV incidence around week 17 of pregnancy, although this correlation does not demonstrate causation. Our genetic description and analysis of ZIKV isolates in Brazil provide a baseline for future studies of the evolution and molecular epidemiology of this emerging virus in the Americas