Evolution and spillover dynamics of yellow fever at the urban-forest interface
Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Ten years after the onset of the largest yellow fever epidemic in the Americas, its transmission dynamics in neotropical primate hosts remain unclear. Using ground- and canopy-level entomology, systematic primate carcass surveillance, and metagenomics, we reconstructed a sylvatic YFV outbreak in a 186-ha Atlantic Forest remnant embedded within São Paulo metropolis. We found that, despite evidence of multiple introductions, transmission was dominated by a single genetic cluster that was introduced during the peak of abundance of Haemagogus leucocelaenus mosquitoes. Phylogenetic-informed modelling incorporating vector and host incubation periods and carcass-detection delays yielded a basic reproduction number, R0, of 8.2 (95% CI 5.1–12.2). Untargeted sequencing also uncovered a near-complete hepatitis A virus genome in a co-infected howler monkey (A. guariba), revealing bidirectional pathogen flow across the forest–urban interface. Integrating metagenomics, multi-source surveillance and climate-driven forecasting could provide cost-effective early warnings to guide pre-emptive vaccination and conservation efforts.
