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New research suggests the Zika virus spread quickly in the Americas and then diverged into distinct genetic groups.
Researchers performed genetic analysis on samples collected as the virus spread throughout the Americas after its introduction in 2013 or 2014.
The team found that Zika circulated undetected for up to a year in some regions before it came to the attention of public health authorities.
Genetic sequencing also enabled the researchers to recreate the epidemiological and evolutionary paths the virus took as it spread and split into the distinct subtypes—or clades—that have been detected in the Americas.
Hayden C. Metsky, a PhD student at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues reported these findings in Nature.
The researchers reconstructed Zika’s dispersal by sequencing genetic material collected from hundreds of patients in 10 countries and territories.
The team eventually amassed a database of 110 complete or partial Zika virus genomes—the largest collection to date—which they analyzed along with 64 published and publicly shared genomes.
Based on changes to the viral genome that accumulated as the disease moved through new populations, the researchers concluded that Zika virus spread rapidly upon its initial introduction in Brazil, likely sometime in 2013.
Later, at several points in early to mid-2015, the virus separated into at least 3 clades—distinct genetic groups whose members share a common ancestor—in Colombia, Honduras, and Puerto Rico, as well as a fourth type found in parts of the Caribbean and the continental US.
The researchers believe these findings could have a direct impact on public health, informing disease surveillance and the development of diagnostic tests. 
New research suggests the Zika virus spread quickly in the Americas and then diverged into distinct genetic groups.
Researchers performed genetic analysis on samples collected as the virus spread throughout the Americas after its introduction in 2013 or 2014.
The team found that Zika circulated undetected for up to a year in some regions before it came to the attention of public health authorities.
Genetic sequencing also enabled the researchers to recreate the epidemiological and evolutionary paths the virus took as it spread and split into the distinct subtypes—or clades—that have been detected in the Americas.
Hayden C. Metsky, a PhD student at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues reported these findings in Nature.
The researchers reconstructed Zika’s dispersal by sequencing genetic material collected from hundreds of patients in 10 countries and territories.
The team eventually amassed a database of 110 complete or partial Zika virus genomes—the largest collection to date—which they analyzed along with 64 published and publicly shared genomes.
Based on changes to the viral genome that accumulated as the disease moved through new populations, the researchers concluded that Zika virus spread rapidly upon its initial introduction in Brazil, likely sometime in 2013.
Later, at several points in early to mid-2015, the virus separated into at least 3 clades—distinct genetic groups whose members share a common ancestor—in Colombia, Honduras, and Puerto Rico, as well as a fourth type found in parts of the Caribbean and the continental US.
The researchers believe these findings could have a direct impact on public health, informing disease surveillance and the development of diagnostic tests.
New research suggests the Zika virus spread quickly in the Americas and then diverged into distinct genetic groups.
Researchers performed genetic analysis on samples collected as the virus spread throughout the Americas after its introduction in 2013 or 2014.
The team found that Zika circulated undetected for up to a year in some regions before it came to the attention of public health authorities.
Genetic sequencing also enabled the researchers to recreate the epidemiological and evolutionary paths the virus took as it spread and split into the distinct subtypes—or clades—that have been detected in the Americas.
Hayden C. Metsky, a PhD student at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his colleagues reported these findings in Nature.
The researchers reconstructed Zika’s dispersal by sequencing genetic material collected from hundreds of patients in 10 countries and territories.
The team eventually amassed a database of 110 complete or partial Zika virus genomes—the largest collection to date—which they analyzed along with 64 published and publicly shared genomes.
Based on changes to the viral genome that accumulated as the disease moved through new populations, the researchers concluded that Zika virus spread rapidly upon its initial introduction in Brazil, likely sometime in 2013.
Later, at several points in early to mid-2015, the virus separated into at least 3 clades—distinct genetic groups whose members share a common ancestor—in Colombia, Honduras, and Puerto Rico, as well as a fourth type found in parts of the Caribbean and the continental US.
The researchers believe these findings could have a direct impact on public health, informing disease surveillance and the development of diagnostic tests.