Elucidating the circulation of zoonotic orthopoxviruses at the One Health interface of Brazil

Outbreaks of the emerging orthopoxvirus Vaccinia virus (VACV) have affected farmers and livestock of Brazil for over two decades. Despite its substantial impact on public health and its potential for larger epidemics, the epidemiology, the origin and the species involved in the circulation of VACV in Brazil remain poorly understood. The ZOOPOX interdisciplinary team will integrate disease ecologists, virologists, wildlife biologists, veterinarians and public health professionals to better understand the dynamics and wild reservoirs of VACV at the human-domestic-animal-wildlife interface. Combining One Health sampling of humans, domestic animals and wildlife with innovative methods of VACV diagnostics including molecular detection from faeces, our general objective will be to detect and genetically characterised VACV among wild primates, capybaras, armadillos, domestic animals and humans of Brazil. The research hypothesis of ZOOPOX is that the Vaccinia virus (VACV) circulates among wild capybaras, armadillos and non-human primates of Brazil, and is circulating in the Pantanal biome at the human-domestic animal-wildlife interface. The specific objectives of the project include: (1) Detect the exposure and infection of VACV among farmers, dogs, cattle and wild armadillos of the Pantanal and Cerrado biomes in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul; (2) Estimate the seroprevalence and detect infection of VACV from blood and faecal samples of wild primates of the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Paraiba, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul; (3) Estimate the infection prevalence of VACV from faecal samples of wild capybaras in the states of Mato Grosso and Rio de Janeiro; (4) Sequence and characterize the genome of VACV from different animal species of Brazil. ZOOPOX will contribute to identify a potential unknown hotspot of VACV circulation in the Pantanal, were VACV has been previously detected on capybaras. ZOOPOX will also identify if wild primates are exposed to the virus across several areas of Brazil, and if capybaras are infected with the virus in urban and peri-urban areas, confirming their role as reservoirs of VACV. ZOOPOX will also constitute the largest attempt to sequence the genomes VACV, to better understand its origin and epidemiology. Including ten research teams, with 8 Brazilian laboratories of 5 states, ZOOPOX will also strengthen Brazilian-French research collaborations in One Health, supporting the international dimension of the Brazilian CNQP-funded INCT-Pox consortium, while promoting interdisciplinary collaborations between ecologists, virologists, veterinarians and public health professionals of both countries. Finally, ZOOPOX will transfer technology and build capacity of the Brazilian groups performing VACV diagnostics, expanding their techniques to incorporate whole genome sequencing methodologies on their diagnostics routine.