Brazil scientists find mutations in yellow fever virus

Scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (IOC/FIOCRUZ) have identified eight genetic mutations in the yellow fever virus from the 2017 outbreak.

The variation does not compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine against the disease. Image credit: Talita Cavalcante Soares de Moura/Agência Brasil

The changes are associated with proteins involved in viral replication, and were detected after the first full genome sequencing of the samples from two howler monkeys. The animals were found in a wooded area in Espírito Santo state, late in February this year.

The variation does not compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine against the disease, researchers believe, but studies will continue in order to identify possible changes in the level of aggressiveness in the virus.

The studies, released this week, show that the viruses belong to the so-called South American 1E lineage, which, according to the institute, has been predominant in Brazil since 2008.

Myrna Bonaldo, head of the IOC Laboratory for Flavivirus Molecular Biology and another research coordinator, dismissed any possibility that the mutation may compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine used against yellow fever.

Bonaldo also said that a possible link between the genetic variation and environmental disasters cannot be confirmed as yet. (Agência Brasil)

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