Phylogeographic reconstruction of the emergence and spread of Powassan virus in the northeastern United States.

ABSTRACT: Powassan virus is an emerging tick-borne virus of concern for public health, but very little is known about its transmission patterns and ecology. Here, we expanded the genomic dataset by sequencing 279 Powassan viruses isolated from Ixodes scapularis ticks from the northeastern United States. Our phylogeographic reconstructions revealed that Powassan virus lineage II was likely introduced or emerged from a relict population in the Northeast between 1940 and 1975. Sequences strongly clustered by sampling location, suggesting a highly focal geographical distribution. Our analyses further indicated that Powassan virus lineage II emerged in the northeastern United States mostly following a south-to-north pattern, with a weighted lineage dispersal velocity of ~3 km/y. Since the emergenc

SUBMITTER: Vogels CBF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10120011 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature