Notified cases of mpox in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a descriptive study, 2022.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of cases of mpox in the city of Rio de Janeiro between June and November 2022. METHODS: This was a descriptive study of secondary data obtained from mpox notification forms. Socioeconomic, clinical and spatial data were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 928 cases, 93.7% were male, 85.0% cisgender male, 65.6% homosexual, 41.8% between 30 and 39 years old, and 41.0% were of White race/skin color. A total of 34.5% had immunosuppression due to illness, and 41.9% reported their HIV status as being positive. The most prevalent signs and symptoms were: skin lesions (96.6%), especially with multiple manifestations (67.8%) in the genital region (46.1%), in addition to fever (58.3%), adenomegaly (43.3%) and headache (38.7%). Most notifications occurred in public services (81.3%) and in hospital care (51.3%). CONCLUSION: The study revealed high incidence of mpox, especially among young, cisgender and homosexual men. Most cases were mild, with genital lesions, progressing to cure without hospitalization. Person-to-person transmission was predominant.

Notified cases of mpox in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a descriptive study, 2022 / Casos notificados de mpox en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro, Brasil: estudio descriptivo, 2022 / Casos notificados de mpox na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: estudo descritivo, 2022

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the profile of cases of mpox in the city of Rio de Janeiro between June and November 2022. Methods This was a descriptive study of secondary data obtained from mpox notification forms. Socioeconomic, clinical and spatial data were analyzed. Results Of the 928 cases, 93.7% were male, 85.0% cisgender male, 65.6% homosexual, 41.8% between 30 and 39 years old, and 41.0% were of White race/skin color. A total of 34.5% had immunosuppression due to illness, and 41.9% reported their HIV status as being positive. The most prevalent signs and symptoms were: skin lesions (96.6%), especially with multiple manifestations (67.8%) in the genital region (46.1%), in addition to fever (58.3%), adenomegaly (43.3%) and headache (38.7%). Most notifications occurred in public services (81.3%) and in hospital care (51.3%). Conclusion The study revealed high incidence of mpox, especially among young, cisgender and homosexual men. Most cases were mild, with genital lesions, progressing to cure without hospitalization. Person-to-person transmission was predominant.

RESUMEN Objetivo Describir el perfil de los casos de mpox en la ciudad de Río de Janeiro entre junio y noviembre de 2022. Métodos Estudio descriptivo de datos secundarios de los formularios de notificación de mpox. Se analizaron datos socioeconómicos, clínicos y espaciales. Resultados De los 928 casos, 93,7% eran hombres, 65,6% homosexuales, 41% blanca, y 41,8% de 30 a 39 años. Estaban inmunocomprometidos debido a una enfermedad 34,5%, y 41,9% reportaron serología positiva para virus de inmunodeficiencia humana. Signos y síntomas más prevalentes fueron: lesiones cutáneas (96,6%), con manifestaciones múltiples (67,8%) y en la región genital (46,1%), además de fiebre (58,3%), adenomegalia (43,3%) y cefalea (38,7%). Mayoría de las notificaciones ocurrieron en la red pública (81,3%) y atención hospitalaria (51,3%). Conclusión El estudio reveló alta incidencia de mpox, especialmente entre hombres jóvenes, cisgénero y homosexuales. Mayoría de los casos tuvieron una presentación leve, progresando hasta la curación sin hospitalización.

RESUMO Objetivo Descrever o perfil dos casos de mpox na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, entre junho e novembro de 2022. Métodos Estudo descritivo de dados secundários das fichas de notificação de mpox. Foram analisados dados socioeconômicos, clínicos e espaciais. Resultados Dos 928 casos, 93,7% foram do sexo masculino, 85,0% homem cisgênero, 65,6% homossexual, 41,8% entre 30 e 39 anos e 41,0% brancos. Apresentavam imunodepressão por doença 34,5%, e 41,9% informaram sorologia positiva prévia para vírus da imunodeficiência humana. Os sinais e sintomas mais prevalentes foram: lesões cutâneas (96,6%), especialmente com manifestações múltiplas (67,8%) e em região genital (46,1%), além de febre (58,3%), adenomegalia (43,3%) e cefaleia (38,7%). A maioria das notificações ocorreu na rede pública (81,3%) e na atenção hospitalar (51,3%). Conclusão O estudo revelou maior incidência de mpox entre homens cisgênero, autodeclarados de cor branca e homossexual. A maioria dos casos teve apresentação leve evoluindo para cura sem hospitalização.

Phylodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spread in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, highlights how metropolitan areas act as dispersal hubs for new variants.

During the first semester of 2021, all of Brazil has suffered an intense wave of COVID-19 associated with the Gamma variant. In July, the first cases of Delta variant were detected in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In this work, we have employed phylodynamic methods to analyse more than 1 600 genomic sequences of Delta variant collected until September in Rio de Janeiro to reconstruct how this variant has surpassed Gamma and dispersed throughout the state. After the introduction of Delta, it has initially spread mostly in the homonymous city of Rio de Janeiro, the most populous of the state. In a second stage, dispersal occurred to mid- and long-range cities, which acted as new close-range hubs for spread. We observed that the substitution of Gamma by Delta was possibly caused by its higher viral load, a proxy for transmissibility. This variant turnover prompted a new surge in cases, but with lower lethality than was observed during the peak caused by Gamma. We reason that high vaccination rates in the state of Rio de Janeiro were possibly what prevented a higher number of deaths.

Emergence of Within-Host SARS-CoV-2 Recombinant Genome After Coinfection by Gamma and Delta Variants: A Case Report.

In this study, we report the first case of intra-host SARS-CoV-2 recombination during a coinfection by the variants of concern (VOC) AY.33 (Delta) and P.1 (Gamma) supported by sequencing reads harboring a mosaic of lineage-defining mutations. By using next-generation sequencing reads intersecting regions that simultaneously overlap lineage-defining mutations from Gamma and Delta, we were able to identify a total of six recombinant regions across the SARS-CoV-2 genome within a sample. Four of them mapped in the spike gene and two in the nucleocapsid gene. We detected mosaic reads harboring a combination of lineage-defining mutations from each VOC. To our knowledge, this is the first report of intra-host RNA-RNA recombination between two lineages of SARS-CoV-2, which can represent a threat to public health management during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the possibility of the emergence of viruses with recombinant phenotypes.

Turnover of SARS-CoV-2 Lineages Shaped the Pandemic and Enabled the Emergence of New Variants in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the present study, we provide a retrospective genomic epidemiology analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We gathered publicly available data from GISAID and sequenced 1927 new genomes sampled periodically from March 2021 to June 2021 from 91 out of the 92 cities of the state. Our results showed that the pandemic was characterized by three different phases driven by a successive replacement of lineages. Interestingly, we noticed that viral supercarriers accounted for the overwhelming majority of the circulating virus (>90%) among symptomatic individuals in the state. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance also revealed the emergence and spread of two new variants (P.5 and P.1.2), firstly reported in this study. Our findings provided important lessons learned from the different epidemiological aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 dynamic in Rio de Janeiro. Altogether, this might have a strong potential to shape future decisions aiming to improve public health management and understanding mechanisms underlying virus dispersion.