Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Viruses (VEEV) in Argentina: Serological Evidence of Human Infection

Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV) are responsible for human diseases in the Americas, producing severe or mild illness with symptoms indistinguishable from dengue and other arboviral diseases. For this reason, many cases remain without certain diagnosis. Seroprevalence studies for VEEV subtypes IAB, ID, IF (Mosso das Pedras virus; MDPV), IV (Pixuna virus; PIXV) and VI (Rio Negro virus; RNV) were conducted in persons from Northern provinces of Argentina: Salta, Chaco and Corrientes, using plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). RNV was detected in all studied provinces. Chaco presented the highest prevalence of this virus (14.1%). Antibodies against VEEV IAB and -for the first time- against MDPV and PIXV were also detected in Chaco province. In Corrientes, seroprevalence against RNV was 1.3% in the pediatric population, indicating recent infections. In Salta, this was the first investigation of VEEV members, and antibodies against RNV and PIXV were detected. These results provide evidence of circulation of many VEE viruses in Northern Argentina, showing that surveillance of these infectious agents should be intensified

Fil: Pisano, María Belén. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina

Fil: Oria, Griselda. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentina

Fil: Beskow, Geraldine. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentina

Fil: Aguilar, Juan Javier. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina

Fil: Konigheim, Brenda Salome. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina

Fil: Cacace, Maria Luisa. Hospital San Vicente de Paul, Orán; Argentina

Fil: Aguirre, Luis. Hospital Dante Tardelli; Argentina

Fil: Stein, Marina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentina

Fil: Contigiani de Minio, Marta Silvia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina