CREATE-NEO AND CENTER FOR VECTOR-BORNE AND ZOONOTIC DISEASES
The Coordinating Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics (CREATE-NEO) project is a nimble and flexible network of surveillance sites in Central and South America coupled to cutting-edge modeling approaches in order to anticipate and counter emerging arboviruses.
The Center for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases aims to harness, leverage, and expand the complimentary functions of the Institute for Human infections and Immunity (IHII), Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CBEID) and the Western Gulf Center of Excellence for Vector Borne Diseases (WGCVBD), to investigate vector-borne diseases internationally through basic, applied, clinical and field research, education, and service.
São José do Rio Preto (SJdRP) is in the northeast region of the state of São Paulo (SP), Brazil, with 400 thousand inhabitants. One of the municipality's largest and most crucial hospital complexes is the Hospital de Base de São José do Rio Preto (HB). The HB is a reference health center serving more than two million inhabitants in the region. The hospital is linked to the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), an educational facility where Laboratório de Pesquisas em Virologia (LPV - Dr. Mauricio Nogueira’s Lab) is located.
There are three primary studies being conducted at LPV/FAMERP: including the arbovirus and genomic surveillance studies led by Dr. Lívia Sacchetto, the human population passive surveillance cohort led by Dr. Nathalia Zini, and the Hospital-based acute-febrile illness cohort led by Dr. Cassia Estofolete.
Our future newsletters will detail the ongoing progress of other CREATE-NEO sites.
Virus Surveillance with the City Public Health Authority and Hospital de Base
Over the last nine years, Laboratório de Pesquisas em Virologia (LPV) has been conducting virus surveillance in collaboration with the City Public Health Authority and Hospital de Base. Serum samples from patients with dengue-like symptoms are received each epidemiological week from different health units located across the municipality of SJdRP, and Hospital de Base de São José do Rio Preto (HB) for arbovirus diagnosis and confirmation. Since 2020, this virus surveillance has been under the auspices of the CREATE-NEO project and led by Dr. Lívia Sacchetto. All provided samples are anonymized, and each sample's clinical and epidemiological data are also received. Dr. Sacchetto leverages this program to investigate the transmission dynamics of various arboviruses of public health importance, as well as identify new (re)emerging arboviruses in the state of Sao Paulo.
In this context, a biobank was set up, and we received 1,914 samples in 2020, 7,468 samples in 2021, and 1,618 samples in 2022 (up to March), totaling 9,314 serum samples. Dengue is the most prevalent virus detected in SJdRP with DENV-2 dominating transmission in 2020, whereas a serotype replacement (DENV2 -> DENV1) was observed in 2021. This trend continued up to the end of March 2022. These trends reinforce the critical role of molecular surveillance in dengue hyperendemic municipalities, like SJdRP, where different lineages and serotypes co-circulate simultaneously. Importantly, our surveillance results are communicated instantly to public health authorities and policy makers to support informed decision-making for control measures.
Meet Dr. Mauricio L. Nogueira, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator and Leader of São José do Rio Preto (SJdRP) site
Dr. Nogueira is a Professor of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at FAMERP. He received an M.D. and a Ph.D. from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and then completed post-doctoral training at NIAID, Bethesda. He is a former president of the Brazilian Society for Virology and is currently a Council Member of the American Committee of Arthropod-borne and Zoonotic virus (ACAV). He is also an Associate Adjunct Professor at the Department of Pathology, at The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA. Dr. Nogueira has a long history working with arboviruses, with over 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts published since he returned to Brazil following his post-doctoral training at NIH. In the last 15 years, his lab has conducted a series of clinical, epidemiological, and molecular studies with arboviruses, specially flaviviruses like dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and Saint Louis encephalitis virus, with manuscripts published in influential journals including Science, Science Translational Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Trends in Microbiology, and others.
His laboratory has been collaborating with UTMB for 11 years, publishing several collaborative manuscript with both Drs. Vasilakis and Weaver on Zika, dengue, and mayaro viruses. Since 2013, Drs. Vasilakis and Nogueira have organized four international symposia, namely ‘FAMERP-UMTB Meeting in Emerging Infections’. The symposia facilitated the initiation and strengthening of collaborations between Brazilian and US-based scientists in various aspects of arbovirology. They were always held in Brazil and included presentations from approximately 20 speakers, with an average attendance of 200, mostly trainees. As a result, several collaborations have been established between U.S. and Brazilian laboratories and importantly, facilitated capacity building as well as monitoring and specialized training of young trainees in biocontainment and vector biology. The LPV team has a long-track in multidisciplinary work with a history of collaboration in diverse principles (e.g. entomology, epidemiology, and clinical studies) and has participated in large-scale NIH-funded projects.
Population Cohort
The human cohort is carried out in Vila Toninho, a low-income neighborhood of SJdRP, under the leadership of Dr. Nathalia Zini. To date, a total of 1,006 participants have been recruited in this ongoing cohort designed to investigate acute febrile illness and well as the transmission dynamics of arboviruses of significant public health impact.
Dr. Zini is a Biologist, who obtained her baccalaureate degree at the Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Catanduva and followed up with an internship at the São Paulo State Health Department in the Superintendência de Controle de Endemias (SUCEN), where she participated in an entomological surveillance study in collaboration with Instituto Adolfo Lutz de São José do Rio Preto. She then received her Ph.D. in Health Sciences at the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP). Currently, she is postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratório de Pesquisas em Virologia, where she is leading the population cohort study in São José do Rio Preto for the CREATE-NEO. Additionally, in her capacity a adjunct professor at the Departamento de Doenças Dermatológicas, Infeciosas e Parasitárias at FAMERP, she teaches various classes at the school of Nursing as well as School of Medicine.
VILA TONINHO COHORT RECRUITMENT
Hospital based acute-febrile Illness cohort
Subjects that seek care at the Hospital de Base with dengue-like acute febrile illness are enrolled in the cohort once consent is obtained. The cohort is led by Dr. Cássia Estofolete, the clinical coordinator responsible for enrolling patients and obtaining informed consent, clinical and demographic data. Serum samples are collected on-site and sent to LPV, where samples are processed and submitted for molecular and serological diagnosis for arboviruses, viral isolation, and sequencing led by Dr. Livia Sacchetto.
Dr. Cássia Estofolete, Md, Phd
Dr. Estofolete has earned her medical degree and Ph.D. in Health Sciences, at the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, followed by a residency in infectious diseases. For the past 5 years, she has led and collaborated on research, epidemiological, and clinical studies on emerging infectious diseases in São Jose do Rio Preto. Her efforts resulted in a number of publications that significantly contributed to our knowledge. Currently, Dr. Estofolete is acquiring additional training in health care management and administration. Since March 2020, she has been leading the COVID-19 response and care management as well as directing the medical residency program at FAMERP.
Dr. Livia Sanchetto, phd
Dr. Lívia Sacchetto earned her MSc in Biological Sciences at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF, Brazil) and her Ph.D. in Microbiology/Virology by the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG, Brazil). During her doctoral studies she focused on the molecular surveillance and characterization of arboviruses with an emphasis on ZIKV and YFV over a period that coincided with both outbreaks in Brazil. She obtained additional training in biocontainment as a visiting Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses (WRCEVA) at The University of Texas Medical Branch. Currently Dr. Sacchetto, is a postdoctoctoral fellow at the Laboratório de Pesquisa em Virologia (LPV) at FAMERP.
Her research interests include epidemiology, molecular/genomic surveillance, molecular/biological characterization, and evolution of emerging viruses. At LPV, she is also part of the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance team, working with COVID-19 samples from São Paulo state. She is also responsible for the arbovirus molecular surveillance efforts in support of the local public health authorities. At FAMERP, Dr. Sacchetto is a board board member of the Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, advising, and co-mentoring graduate students and serves as a guest professor at the Departamento de Doenças Dermatológicas, Infeciosas e Parasitárias. Since 2021, she serves in the Trainee Leadership Group of the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses’ (ACAV), a subcommittee of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH).
"Revealing Vector Species with Potential to Mediate Pathogen Spillover from Wildlife to Livestock in the Pantanal"
"The project entitled " Revealing Vector Species with Potential to Mediate Pathogen Spillover from Wildlife to Livestock in the Pantanal " is carried out in the Brazilian Pantanal region, an area of 179,000 km2, which is the largest wetland in the world. It is a global biodiversity hotspot that houses more than 174 species of mammals and 23 species of ticks. The region comprises a complex mosaic of habitats such as flooded and non-flooded forest patches, seasonally flooded grasslands, and permanent or temporary lagoons, where several migratory bird species over-winter. Thus this ecosystem offers favorable conditions for maintenance of different species of ticks, mosquitoes and flies which can support transmission of viral pathogens.
The research is carried out by the team of Daniel Moura de Aguiar, DVM, PhD, in collaboration with Drs. Hanley (NMSU), Vasilakis (UTMB), Han and Castellanos (CIES). Dr. Aguiar is a Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, in Cuiabá. Cuiaba is located on the banks of the Cuiabá River, which is considered one of the main rivers of the Pantanal. The project is sponsored by the Coordinating Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics (CREATE-NEO) and financial support is provided by the CREID Coordinating Center.
The objectives of this project are to monitor the occurrence of wildlife, domestic animals and vectors at replicate sites across our study region in the Pantanal using a combination of wildlife cameras and tick collections and to investigate their potential to serve as arbovirus hosts. Following identification, ticks are analyzed by PCR to detect possible arboviruses that may be active in the Pantanal.
The differences in water levels could be clearly noticed as can be seen in the image. Completely dry places were flooded with water depths exceeding one meter. During our field collection campaigns, we have identified 3 species of ticks : Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma triste and Amblyomma ovale. To date, three data collection campaigns been carried out. Many species of mammals were observed, ranging from wild felids to neotropical primates, and domestic animals such as, cattle, horses, and dogs demonstrating the region's rich diversity. These campaigns were carried out in both the dry (August to November), and wet (December to April) seasons.
Zico
The above video of the Jacaré is taken at site 1. Jacaré is a common term in Brazil for caimans. If you want to use another term, you can use "Zico", the nickname given to this particular caiman.
Publications
Association between densities of adult and immature stages of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in space and time: implications for vector surveillance. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05244-4.
Booster dose of BNT162b2 in a CoronaVac primary vaccination protocol improves neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.24.22272904.
Detection of Zika RNA virus in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, São Paulo, Brazil DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105226
Genomic epidemiology reveals the impact of national and international restrictions measures on the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Brazil. DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.07.21264644.
Predictors of death in COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections in Brazil. DOI: 10.1016/j.jinf.2022.01.040
IMMUNOGENICITY, Effectiveness, and Safety of Inactivated Virus (CoronaVac) Vaccine in a Two-Dose Primary Protocol and BNT162b2 Heterologous Booster in Brazil (Immunita-001): A One Year Period Follow Up Phase 4 Study doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.918896
Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Gamma lineage introduction and COVID-19 vaccination on the epidemiological landscape of a Brazilian city. doi: 10.1038/s43856-022-00108-5
SEMINAR SERIES
The Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases which is anchored by the NIH-funded Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases titled “The Coordinating Research on Emerging Arboviral Threats Encompassing the Neotropics (CREATE-NEO),” has established a virtual seminar series to raise awareness on the emergence and consequences of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases for public health. The Center’s seminar series is held every second Tuesday of the month.
Organizers: Kathryn Hanley (khanley@nmsu.edu) | Nikos Vasilakis (nivasila@utmb.edu) 11am CST | 5pm GERMANY | Midnight SINGAPORE 11am CST
The video below provides a preview of the seminar presented by Dr. Sandra Lopez titled "Seroprevalence of arbovirus and zoonotic parasites in sloths from West Panama". To view full seminar, click here.
Dr. Daniel Becker presented a seminar titled "Optimizing predictive models to prioritize pathogen discovery in zoonotic reservoir hosts". To view the full seminar, click here.
One Health Surveillance to predict the emergence of ticks and tick-borne diseases - Saravanan Thangamani To watch the seminar, Click Here.
Credits:
Created with images by ekamelev - "no one rain dew" • tutye - "Tubes of blood sample for testing" • Mi St - "The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) - female on grass . Czech Republic, Europe" • Gabrielle - "Male Jaguar (Panthera onca) jumping from a riverbank into the water, Cuiaba river, Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil" • Dmytro Synelnychenko - "New white acrylic canvas background as part of your unique classic style."