{"id":250276,"date":"2017-12-12T13:45:27","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T15:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=250276\/"},"modified":"2017-12-13T19:01:56","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T21:01:56","slug":"breaking-boundaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/breaking-boundaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking boundaries"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Zika reached Northeast Brazil one and a half years before it was recognized as a public enemy, according to two articles written by different groups and published online in the journal Nature<\/em> on May 24, 2017. The virus spread quickly, taking advantage of Aedes aegypti<\/em> mosquitoes and a human population whose immune system had no defenses against it. It also disguised itself as dengue and chikungunya, illnesses that present similar symptoms. Researchers working in parallel relied on different resources but shared a common goal: monitoring the viral genome\u2019s evolution not only to understand what had happened but also to predict new outbreaks and keep diagnostic methods current.<\/p>\n

Part of these findings come from ZiBRA, the Zika in Brazil Real Time Analysis Project. On board a mobile lab equipped with a genome sequencing device that fits in the palm of the hand, an international team has been investigating the path of the Zika virus ever since it landed in Brazil and began spreading across the Americas (see Pesquisa FAPESP<\/em> Issue No. 239<\/a>). They made the whole genome sequencing available to other research teams, broadening the scope of the work. \u201cBy combining epidemiological and genetic data, we were able to see that Zika was silently circulating in all regions of the Americas at least a year before its presence was first confirmed, in May 2015,\u201d says Portuguese-born Nuno Faria, a physician-scientist at the University of Oxford and first author of the article that describes the results of the 2016 monitoring efforts.<\/p>\n

According to Faria, the virus was introduced into Northeast Brazil in February 2014. The region probably saw some level of transmission that year but nothing very significant. \u201cThe major outbreak most likely took place in 2015, concurrent with the dengue outbreak. Zika spread from Northeast Brazil to the Southeast region [where it first struck Rio de Janeiro] and also to the Caribbean and other countries in South and Central America, eventually reaching Florida,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The ZiBRA Project based its conclusions on the analysis of 254 whole genomes of the pathogen, 54 of which were sequenced for the study published in Nature<\/em>. Most of these new genetic data were obtained using MinION, a portable sequencer weighing less than 100 grams that is made by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. The protocols that enabled this technology to sequence Zika were designed as part of the ZiBRA Project and gave rise to a second article, published online by Nature Protocols<\/em> on the same date. The method was adapted to the virus circulating in Brazil at the Institute of Tropical Medicine, of the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (IMT-USP), under the leadership of epidemiologist Ester Sabino and in partnership with collaborators from the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom. \u201cOur intern Ingra Claro tested the samples according to instructions from Joshua [Quick, first author of the article on the method] in order to obtain enough viral RNA,\u201d Sabino explains.<\/p>\n

The larger the number of sequences generated, Sabino adds, the easier it is to understand when the virus entered Brazil, how it spread across the continent, and, mainly, how it is evolving. This analysis is possible thanks to the molecular clock technique, which evaluates the accumulation of mutations to certain genes. These changes occur at a relatively constant rate and the genes serve as timers that indicate how long it has been since the viral isolates diverged.<\/p>\n

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Ricardo Funari<\/span><\/a> Jaqueline Goes de Jesus, of Fiocruz, and Nuno Faria use a handheld MinION to monitor Zika in Jo\u00e3o Pessoa, Para\u00edbaRicardo Funari<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Laboratory on the road<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe idea for the project emerged in 2016, when part of the group published the first epidemiological and genetic findings on Zika in the Americas in Science<\/em>. We had sequenced seven viral isolates, but the number of samples wasn\u2019t enough to provide a broad notion of the virus\u2019s diversity on the continent,\u201d says geneticist Luiz Carlos Alc\u00e2ntara, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Bahia.<\/p>\n

The ZiBRA Project was approved in a call for proposals issued jointly by three British research funding agencies: the Medical Research Council, the Newton Fund, and Wellcome Trust. Researchers from a number of institutions have joined in the initiative, including Fiocruz, the Evandro Chagas Institute, Brazil\u2019s Ministry of Health, USP, and Birmingham and Oxford universities.<\/p>\n

During 2016, a lab installed on a bus visited Central Public Health Laboratories (LACEN) in the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Para\u00edba, Pernambuco, and Alagoas. Other leaders of the initiative, alongside Alc\u00e2ntara, Faria, and Sabino, were researchers Nicholas Loman, of the University of Birmingham; Oliver Pybus, of the University of Oxford; and Marcio Nunes, of the Evandro Chagas Institute in Par\u00e1. \u201cAt each Central Lab, we analyzed 300 to 400 blood samples from patients with suspected Zika, for a total of 1,330 tests. We did real-time diagnosis and when the results were positive, the virus\u2019s genetic material was sequenced,\u201d reports Alc\u00e2ntara.<\/p>\n

With support from fixed laboratories at Fiocruz, in Salvador, Bahia, and at IMT-USP, in S\u00e3o Paulo, the team also analyzed samples from Southeast Brazil and the state of Tocantins. Collaborators in the United States sequenced the genomes of four viral isolates from Mexico and five from Colombia. \u201cThe analyses showed that up until 2016, the viruses found in the various regions of Brazil and neighboring Latin American countries were not yet displaying much diversity,\u201d says Alc\u00e2ntara.<\/p>\n

According to Alc\u00e2ntara, the African strain reached Asia shortly before 2007, when it triggered the first epidemic, in Micronesia. Further outbreaks were recorded in the Philippines (2012) and French Polynesia (2013 and 2014). Zika next struck Brazil, which has reported the largest number of cases to date, surpassing 200,000 by December 2016. \u201cThe virus has changed a lot since leaving Africa. Seven to 10 years from now, there will probably be much more diversity here in the Americas. We have to maintain genomic surveillance so we are prepared if a new outbreak comes,\u201d advises Alc\u00e2ntara.<\/p>\n

Besides assisting Central Labs to diagnose hundreds of suspected Zika cases, ZiBRA researchers also trained teams to conduct genomic surveillance using MinION. A second stage of the project is now underway to monitor the dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses, in addition to Zika. \u201cWe\u2019re going to set up a fixed lab in Manaus to analyze Central Lab samples from Amap\u00e1, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, and Rond\u00f4nia. In October 2017, we\u2019re taking a mobile lab to the Central-West, and in March 2018, we\u2019ll head to the Southeast,\u201d says Alc\u00e2ntara.<\/p>\n

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Ricardo Funari<\/span><\/a> In Natal, Marta Giovanetti, of Fiocruz, prepares sequencing…Ricardo Funari<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Monitoring from a lab bench\u00a0<\/strong>
\nReal-time monitoring is also the focus of another international group, although it performs its genetic analyses in fixed laboratories. The team used some of the same procedures but combined the protocols developed for MinION with the use of more powerful devices. \u201cThe focuses were complementary,\u201d says geneticist Bronwyn MacInnis, of the Broad Institute, in the United States. The study led by her in partnership with her colleague Pardis Sabeti involved sequencing 110 Zika genomes collected in 10 countries. The fact that two teams took different paths and reached similar conclusions lends support to these interpretations and validates new sequencing techniques, in turn providing new opportunities for tracking epidemics.<\/p>\n

One challenge faced by both groups is that the Zika virus typically presents a low viral load, or viremia. \u201cBy the time the patient seeks help, the infection is already going away,\u201d says MacInnis. In her earlier experience, during the Ebola outbreak that hit Africa in 2015, she found 1,000 to 10,000 times more viral copies in samples drawn from patients. Despite this difference, training with Ebola was the preliminary step that enabled MacInnis and her collaborators to plunge into researching the Zika epidemic without even having time to catch their breath. \u201cThat was the first time that genetic monitoring of an epidemic occurred in real time,\u201d she says. Prior to that, samples had to be collected from patients and cultured in laboratory to obtain enough virus. The problem is that not everything in the sample grows in culture and a great deal of diversity is lost in this process. The novel feat was managing to perform genetic analyses directly on blood drawn from patients, using techniques that capture the genetic material\u2014RNA in the case of Zika\u2014from the sample.<\/p>\n

When the epidemic broke out in Brazil and other countries in South America and the Caribbean, MacInnis looked for partners in Brazil with whom to exchange knowledge. She forged what she describes as a rich collaborative relationship with Fernando Bozza, Thiago Souza, and Patricia Bozza, of Fiocruz in Rio. \u201cThey brought an understanding of how the disease was progressing and how it interacted with the viruses that cause dengue and chikungunya,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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Ricardo Funari<\/span><\/a> …examining mosquitoes captured in that cityRicardo Funari<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The group from Rio de Janeiro had already acquired an epidemiologic understanding of dengue by working with hospitals and conducting systematic surveillance of the disease. \u201cZika gave us a lot of work in the beginning because of the low viremia,\u201d recalls Fernando Bozza. After successfully developing a quick diagnostic test, his team began collecting samples and working to improve their success in extracting RNA, which means enforcing more rigorous methods of collecting and storing the material.<\/p>\n

Bozza believes that the delay in the identification of Zika after it entered Brazil underscores the importance of genetically monitoring relevant diseases that have already been detected on other continents. \u201cBy the time we identified the problem, an epidemic was already underway.\u201d If researchers understand the evolution of the virus and possess surveillance techniques, they can develop strategies for detecting diseases faster.<\/p>\n

Genetic data indicate that it was also months before the first cases of the virus were detected in Puerto Rico, Honduras, Colombia, and areas of the Caribbean and the United States. This subtle circulation allowed Zika to move from the Caribbean into the United States, as reported in a fourth article, published online in Nature<\/em>, likewise on May 24, 2017. But Florida is the only state where conditions are suitable for Aedes aegypti<\/em> to stay year-round, allowing the virus to spread. The disease has thus been confined to that state, especially to the Miami region, a destination for large numbers of visitors from abroad. \u201cThe virus was introduced many times. It wasn\u2019t an isolated event,\u201d asserts MacInnis, co-author of the paper. \u201cUnderstanding how this happened is important in coordinating our efforts to control the vector and protect entry routes.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacInnis knows that while there may be a break in the action now before summer comes to Florida, other epidemics will follow. For the time being, the Zika virus still harbors a bit of mystery\u2014it circulated less than expected during Brazil\u2019s last summer. \u201cWe\u2019re going to continue monitoring to try to understand how the virus advances,\u201d says Sabino, whose team has been tracking donated blood samples at four major blood banks in S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cWe\u2019re learning ways to put together research groups that can respond quickly in an emergency.\u201d The risk that researchers will be caught by surprise has decreased as genetic surveillance and collaborative networks have reaped new knowledge. These simultaneous publications drive home the fact that addressing epidemics depends vitally on team work that draws in experts from different fields. The two groups working in parallel were aware of this and therefore did not close themselves off. \u201cWe kept in touch throughout the process, comparing our findings,\u201d says MacInnis.<\/p>\n

Project<\/strong>
\nComplete genomes for dengue virus: viral genetic diversity among seropositive first-time blood donors and recipients in two blood centres in Brazil (No. 12\/03417-7<\/a>); Grant Mechanism<\/strong>\u00a0Scholarships in Brazil – Doctorate; Principal Investigator<\/strong>\u00a0Ester Cerdeira Sabino (USP); Grantee\u00a0<\/strong>Antonio Charlys da Costa; Investment<\/strong>\u00a0R$145,246.14.<\/p>\n

Scientific articles
\nFARIA, N. R. et al<\/em>. Establishment and cryptic transmission of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas<\/a>. Nature<\/strong>. V. 546, No. 7658, pp. 406-410. June 15, 2017.
\nGRUBAUGH, N. D. et al.<\/em> Genomic epidemiology reveals multiple introductions of Zika virus into the United States<\/a>. Nature<\/strong>. V. 546, No. 7658, pp. 401-405. June 15, 2017.
\nMETSKY, H. C. et al<\/em>. Zika virus evolution and spread in the Americas<\/a>. Nature<\/strong>. V. 546, No. 7658, pp. 411-415. June 15, 2017.
\nQUICK, J. et al.<\/em> Multiplex PCR method for MinION and Illumina sequencing of Zika and other virus genomes directly from clinical samples<\/a>. Nature Protocols<\/strong>. V. 12, No. 6, pp. 1261-76. May 24, 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real-time analyses reveal trajectory of Zika virus across the Americas","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[229,237,242,260],"coauthors":[735,1601],"class_list":["post-250276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","tag-epidemiology","tag-genetics","tag-immunology","tag-public-health","keywords-virology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250276"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=250276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}