Molecular evolution of dengue virus in the Caribbean

Abstract

Dengue is a pantropical mosquito-borne virus infecting SO to 100 million people a year. A group of four closely related serotypes, DENV -1 - 4, cause a wide spectrum of disease, from relatively mild dengue fever (DF) to the more severe dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). All four serotypes have been expanding geographically, and now circulate hyperendemically in most tropical regions, such as Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. This study addresses the role of virus evolution in changing transmission dynamics in the Caribbean, expanding on initial studies on DENV- 2 and -4 to include DENY -1 and -3 over the same period using the envelope gene.