The first discovery of the group IV GETV from Pangolin, China

We confirmed novel Group IV Getah virus (GETV) was detected from pangolin, which is the first discovered new host. And this is the first discovery of Group IV GETV in Guangxi province, China. This strain, named CHIKV-China/GX2020, is highly homologous to the 2017 Thailand strain. Bayesian analysis shows that GETV has a faster evolutionary rate with 3.487 (2.213–4.771) × 10−4 substitutions/site/year. The Lollipop plot demonstrated in detail the amino acid differences between the isolated strain and the other sequences of GETV of Group IV and revealed that more mutations occur in the structural protein E2. Compared with the 2017 Thailand isolate, GETV-China/GX2020 has been discovered important amino acid mutation of E2-H207N. This mutation results in a change in the conformation of the E2 protein, which may in turn affect the infectivity or pathogenicity of the virus. Existing surveillance programs and diagnostics efficiency of potential outbreaks of GETV need strengthen.