New GloPID-R Reports Available on Epidemiology of O’nyong-nyong and Mayaro Viruses

The GloPID-R released two new reports on Chikungunya (CHIKV), O’nyong-nyong (ONNV) and Mayaro (MAYV) virus in the Antiviral Research September 2019 issue. The reports are focused on understanding the epidemiological distribution of ONNV and MAYV viruses, respectively.

Two large-scale O’nyong-nyong (ONNV) outbreaks have been identified in Africa in the last 60 years. To provide a current assessment of ONNV, the members published The GloPID-R report on Chikungunya, O’nyong-nyong and Mayaro Virus, Part 2: Epidemiological Distribution of O’nyong-nyong Virus.

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After reviewing the information obtained from health organizations and peer-reviewed journals, the report concludes on the ongoing difficulty of quantifying ONNV due to the absence of surveillance systems, scarce seroprevalence data and ONNV genetic data.  As a result, the working group’s experts make recommendations to:

• Improve knowledge about ONNV circulation and epidemiology at a large scale
• Promote entomological and environmental surveillance
• Develop accurate assays and algorithms allowing to detect IgG antibodies to ONNV and to distinguish them from IgG to CHIKV
• Develop molecular and serological multiplex tools for acute cases to differentiate ONNV from CHIKV in Africa
• Implement cross-protection studies between ONNV and related alphaviruses, particularly for CHIKV
• Perform studies to better characterize the natural history of ONNV disease and to identify long term sequelae post infection

The Mayaro virus (MAYV) is another disease of concern mainly found in the Americas. Due to similarities in clinical presentation found with other arboviruses, it can be hard to diagnose and remains underreported. The GloPID-R Report on Chikungunya, O’nyong-nyong and Mayaro Virus, Part 3: Epidemiological Distribution of Mayaro Virus provides a picture of MAYV geographic spread through the Americas, gaps of knowledge and proposes research recommendations.

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The experts’ recommendations are similar to those found in the ONNV report with two notable additions to:

• Define case definitions (for probable and confirmed cases) and a clear diagnostic laboratory algorithm
• Select and propose genotyping and sequencing protocols to quickly identify the lineage of circulating viral strains.

These reports were based on the work of scientific experts from the GloPID-R Chikungunya working group, chaired by Xavier de Lamballerie (Aix-Marseille University), which was specifically established to identify research gaps and make recommendations on research priorities for the CHIKV, ONNV, and MAYV viruses. The working group focuses on the natural history, epidemiology, and medical management of infections caused by these viruses. The goal is to improve individual patient care and outbreak management.

In the future, the group plans on publishing reports based on ecology and clinics.