Cocirculation of Rio Negro Virus (RNV) and Pixuna Virus (PIXV) in Tucumán province, Argentina

Abstract

Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis complex includes viruses considered emerging pathogens for humans and animals in the Americas. Two members of this complex have been detected previously in Argentina: Rio Negro Virus, detected in mosquitoes from Chaco province and rodents from Formosa province, and Pixuna Virus, detected in mosquitoes from Chaco province. To carry out surveillance studies in other parts of the country, detection of a 195 bp fragment of alphaviruses by RT-Nested PCR was performed in mosquito samples of San Miguel de Tucumán city. Four pools resulted positive and three were sequenced. Two amplicons grouped with Rio Negro Virus and one with Pixuna Virus. This is the first report of viral activity of members of the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis complex in North-eastern areas of Argentina.