Rapid Epidemic Expansion of Chikungunya Virus East/Central/South African Lineage, Paraguay
Marta Giovanetti, Cynthia Vázquez, Maurício Lima, Emerson Castro, Analia Rojas, Andrea Gómez de la Fuente, Carolina Aquino, Cesar Cantero, Fatima Fleitas, Juan Torales, Julio César Quiroz Barrios, María José Cilleruelo Ortega, María Liz Gamarra, Shirley Villalba, Tania Alfonzo, Joilson Xavier, Talita Adelino, Hegger Fritsch, Felipe Campos de Melo Iani, Glauco Carvalho Pereira, Carla de Oliveira, Gabriel Schuab, Evandra Strazza Rodrigues, Simone Kashima, Juliana Almeida Leite, Lionel Gresh, Leticia Franco, Houriiyah Tegally, Wesley C. Van Voorhis, Richard Lessels, Ana María Bispo de Filippis, Andrea Ojeda, Guillermo Sequera, Romeo Montoya, Edward C. Holmes, Túlio de Oliveira, Jairo Méndez‐Rico, José Lourenço, Vagner Fonseca, Luiz C.J. Alcantara
Abstract
The spread of Chikungunya virus is a major public health concern in the Americas. There were >120,000 cases and 51 deaths in 2023, of which 46 occurred in Paraguay. Using a suite of genomic, phylodynamic, and epidemiologic techniques, we characterized the ongoing large chikungunya epidemic in Paraguay.