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Earnest JT, Ciau-Carillo KJ, Kirstein OD, Che-Mendoza A, Espinoza DO, Puerta-Guardo H, Yam-Trujillo K, Parra-Cardeña M, Barrera-Fuentes GA, Pavia-Ruz N, Correa-Morales F, Gomez-Dantes H, Granja-Perez P, Villanueva S, Manrique-Saide P, Ayora-Talavera G, Collins MH, Vazquez-Prokopec G. Evidence of Ongoing Transmission of Zika Virus in Mérida, Mexico. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2024; 110:724-730. [PMID: 38377614 PMCID: PMC10993846 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Since the Zika virus (ZIKV) pandemic in 2015-2017, there has been a near absence of reported cases in the Americas outside of Brazil. However, the conditions for Aedes-borne transmission persist in Latin America, and the threat of ZIKV transmission is increasing as population immunity wanes. Mexico has reported only 70 cases of laboratory-confirmed ZIKV infection since 2020, with no cases recorded in the Yucatán peninsula. Here, we provide evidence of active ZIKV transmission, despite the absence of official case reports, in the city of Mérida, Mexico, the capital of the state of Yucatán. Capitalizing on an existing cohort, we detected cases in participants with symptoms consistent with flavivirus infection from 2021 to 2022. Serum samples from suspected cases were tested for ZIKV RNA by polymerase chain reaction or ZIKV-reactive IgM by ELISA. To provide more specific evidence of exposure, focus reduction neutralization tests were performed on ELISA-positive samples. Overall, we observed 25 suspected ZIKV infections for an estimated incidence of 2.8 symptomatic cases per 1,000 persons per year. Our findings emphasize the continuing threat of ZIKV transmission in the setting of decreased surveillance and reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- James T. Earnest
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Karina Jacqueline Ciau-Carillo
- Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Oscar D. Kirstein
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Azael Che-Mendoza
- Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecurias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Daniel O. Espinoza
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Henry Puerta-Guardo
- Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
- Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecurias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Kevin Yam-Trujillo
- Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Manuel Parra-Cardeña
- Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Gloria A. Barrera-Fuentes
- Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecurias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
- Laboratorio de Hematologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Norma Pavia-Ruz
- Laboratorio de Hematologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Fabian Correa-Morales
- Centro Nacional de Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades (CENAPRECE), Secretaria de Salud Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Hector Gomez-Dantes
- Health Systems Research Centre, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico
| | | | | | - Pablo Manrique-Saide
- Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecurias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Guadalupe Ayora-Talavera
- Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico
| | - Matthew H. Collins
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
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