2025/05/28 by J. Y. Kim, Minkyu Park, Dong-Hoon Shin +10 · 1 voice
Medicine · Social Sciences · #Mosquito-borne diseases and control #Dengue and Mosquito Control Research #Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment
paper · doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaf288
openalex publication_date 2025/05/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
BACKGROUND: The 2022 dengue outbreak in Karachi, Pakistan, posed a severe threat to the region, yet no study has investigated the origins of the causal strain. METHODS: This study aimed to trace the origins and transmission route of the dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) strain responsible for the 2022 epidemic through genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. We successfully sequenced 135 complete DENV-1 genomes from clinical samples using long-read amplicon sequencing. RESULTS: The DENV-1 genotype III strain circulating in Pakistan likely originated from Southeast Asia, with potential connections to China-Singapore strains. Mutation comparisons using reconstructed ancestral sequences indicated that the Pakistan clade shared characteristic nonsynonymous mutations with the 2014-2015 China epidemic strains, indicating the potential origin of the currently circulating DENV-1 strain. Considering the temporal gap between the China and Pakistan epidemics, there is likely a "missing link" in the transmission route. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, our findings provide critical insights into the genetic diversity and transmission patterns of DENV-1 in Pakistan and underscore the need for enhanced genomic surveillance and international collaboration to control the spread and predict outbreaks of DENV.