title: Eastern equine encephalitis cases among horses in Brazil between 2005 and 2009.
abstract: Eastern equine encephalitis is a viral zoonosis that exhibits complex distribution and epidemiology, and greater importance should be given to this disease by the public-health authorities. In Brazil, although eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) has been identified in vectors and antibodies are sometimes detected in horses and humans, there have been no records of equine encephalitis in horses caused by this virus during the last 24 years. This study describes eighteen cases of eastern equine encephalomyelitis that occurred in six Brazilian states between 2005 and 2009. Viral RNA was identified using semi-nested RT-PCR to detect members of the genus Alphavirus, and by genetic sequencing. The gene encoding NSP1 was partially amplified, and after genetic sequencing, eighteen sequences were generated. All eighteen strains were classified as belonging to lineage III of American EEEV. These findings could be an indication of the importance of this virus in animal and human public health.
authors.affiliation: Seção de Diagnóstico da Raiva, Instituto Pasteur, Av. Paulista, 393-Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01311-000, Brazil, rafaeldenovaes@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Novaes Oliveira
authors.forename: Keila
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iamamoto
authors.forename: Maria Luana Cristiny Rodrigues
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Samira Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Achkar
authors.forename: Juliana Galera
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Castilho
authors.forename: Ekaterina Durymanova
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Renata Spinelli Vaz
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lobo
authors.forename: Paulo Eduardo
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carnieli
authors.forename: Maria Luiza
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Carrieri
authors.forename: Ivanete
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kotait
authors.forename: Carla Isabel
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Macedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000821:virology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000821:virology; D004663:Encephalitis Virus, Eastern Equine / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D020242:Encephalomyelitis, Eastern Equine / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000662:veterinary / Q000821:virology; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses / Q000821:virology; D051379:Mice; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral