Epidemiology and Infection
- Epidemiology and Infection / Volume 140 / Issue 09 / September 2012, pp 1637-1643
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S095026881100255X (About DOI), Published online: 01 December 2011
West Nile virus/encephalitis
Molecular phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis of Japanese encephalitis virus in China
S. P. CHENa1 c1
a1 State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, PR China
SUMMARY
We elucidated the molecular epidemiology and evolution of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) strains isolated from 1949 to 2009 in China in this study. Three genotypes (I, III, V) were confirmed to be co-circulating in China in both high- and low-prevalence areas. Genotype III consisted of two clades (mainland clade and Taiwan clade). Compared to the mainland clade, genotype I and the Taiwan clade were newly introduced and evolved more rapidly. We also demonstrated that JEV strains in China, especially those in the mainland clade, were not only under purifying selection, but also probably under positive selection (aa 227 and 408 in the envelope protein).
(Accepted November 09 2011)
(Online publication December 01 2011)
Correspondence:
c1 Author for correspondence: Dr S. P. Chen, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, PR China. (Email: shpchen@hotmail.com)
