Rio University Discovers Mayaro Virus Plaguing the Country’s Southeast

By Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new threat to public health haunts the state of Rio de Janeiro: scientists at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have discovered that a virus with symptoms similar to those of the Chikungunya virus may precipitate an epidemic in the Southeast.

Both have similar characteristics, such as disablingly intense joint pains that last for months. There is no vaccine nor any specific treatment.

Laboratory tests have shown that the Mayaro virus can be transmitted by both the Aedes mosquito and the common mosquito (Culex).

According to Amílcar Tanuri, coordinator of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology at UFRJ, where the study was carried out, this increases the risk of an epidemic.

Mistaken for Chikungunya, Mayaro has been present in Rio since 2016. Additionally, the gravity of the discovery lies in the fact that the cases are autochthonous, meaning the victims were infected here, rather than in other locations. To date, three cases are known, all from Niterói.