Evolution of cocirculating varicella-zoster virus genotypes during a chickenpox outbreak in Guinea-Bissau.

ABSTRACT:

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Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a double-stranded DNA alphaherpesvirus, is associated with seasonal outbreaks of varicella in nonimmunized populations. Little is known about whether these outbreaks are associated with a single or multiple viral genotypes and whether new mutations rapidly accumulate during transmission. Here, we take advantage of a well-characterized population cohort in Guinea-Bissau and produce a unique set of 23 full-length genome sequences, collected over 7 months from eight households. Comparative sequence analysis reveals that four distinct genotypes cocirculated among the population, three of which were present during the first week of the outbreak, although no patients were coinfected, which indicates that exposure to infectious virus from multiple

SUBMITTER: Depledge DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4249134 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature