Supplementary Material for: Coxsackievirus A24 Variant Associated with Acute Haemorrhagic Conjunctivitis Cases, French Guiana, 2017

In 2017, numerous cases of acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) were reported in the Caribbean and in South America. Preliminary reports identified adenoviruses and enteroviruses in some patient samples but, until now, none of the etiologic agents have been fully characterized. We report the full-length genomic sequences of 4 coxsackievirus A24 (CV-A24) isolates collected from AHC patients in French Guiana during this outbreak (May and June 2017). These isolates are very closely related and belong to the genotype IV of CV-A24 variant, which consists of strains sampled worldwide during AHC outbreaks in the 2000s and 2010s. No recombination events were detected within the genomic sequences, indicating that members of this genotype have continuously circulated worldwide for more than 10 years without undergoing recombination with other enteroviruses. This unusual trait could be due to their ocular tropism that could impede genetic exchanges between these viruses and other enteroviruses, which replicate mainly in the gut.

2017年，加勒比海及南美地区报告了多起急性出血性结膜炎（acute haemorrhagic conjunctivitis, AHC）病例。初步报告在部分患者样本中检出腺病毒与肠道病毒，但截至目前，所有致病原均未完成完整鉴定。本研究报告了2017年5至6月期间，从法属圭亚那该次暴发的AHC患者体内分离得到的4株柯萨奇病毒A24（coxsackievirus A24, CV-A24）的全长基因组序列。这些分离株亲缘关系极近，隶属于CV-A24变异株的IV基因型，该基因型包含2000至2010年代全球范围内AHC暴发中采集的毒株。基因组序列中未检测到重组事件，表明该基因型毒株已在全球持续传播十余年，未与其他肠道病毒发生重组。这一异常特征可能与其眼部嗜性有关：该嗜性会阻碍这些病毒与主要在肠道内复制的其他肠道病毒之间发生遗传交换。