Variation and clade shifts in dengue virus (DENV) genotypes are responsible for numerous dengue fever outbreaks throughout Latin America in the past decade. Molecular analyses of dengue serotypes have revealed extensive genetic diversification and the emergence of new genotypes in Brazil (DENV-4 genotype I) and elsewhere in tropical and subtropical America. The goal of the present study is to assess the extent to which the adventitious introduction of DENV genotypes and their increasing genetic diversity affects dengue epidemiology in Mexico. A nuanced sequence inspection and phylogenetic analysis of the C-prM nucleotide region of DENV was performed for specimens collecting in 2009 from the Veracruz State, Mexico. Findings were contrasted with specimens collected in adjacent years and analysed based on the epidemiological patterns reported between 1990 and 2019. Additionally, the identification process of various DENV genotypes was assessed, including: (1) DENV-1, genotype V, (2) the DENV-2 Asian/American and Asian II genotypes (3) DENV-3, genotype III, and (4) DENV-4, genotype I. This resulted in the discovery of a distinct genetic cladistic pattern for serotype DENV-2. Lastly, study findings suggest that a correlation exists between the emergence of novel genotypes and genetic diversification, with the increasing incidence of DENV infections in Mexico in 2009.

Dengue virus (DENV) evolution has had a significant impact on disease pathogenesis, virulence, and epidemiology in Mexico. Novel genotypic variation in DENV serotypes and genotypes may influence the magnitude and severity of dengue epidemics, as evidenced by 2009 data from Veracruz State. The data presented herein is related to the publication entitled “Epidemiological Implications of the Genetic Diversification of Dengue Virus (DENV) Serotypes and Genotypes in Mexico” [1]. Raw data and trees provide epidemiological data on DENV prevalence and a comprehensive phylogeny of both representative sequences collected from an NCBI repository, and 28 additional isolates from acute-phase plasma samples diagnosed with dengue fever or severe dengue (Raw sequencing data is hosted in the public repository Mendeley Data ( http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/bf2kdhhf6x.2 ). Phylogenetic trees for each DENV serotype (DENV-1, -2, -3 and -4) were constructed using these sequences by a maximum likelihood methodology as well as a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) integration approach. Phylogenetic trees exhibited: (1) DENV-1, genotype V, (2) the DENV-2 Asian/American and Asian II genotypes, (3) DENV-3, genotype III, and (4) DENV-4, genotype I. This data can be beneficial for future analyses on DENV serotype and genotype structure and the introduction of novel DENV genotype sequences in the Americas, for the further elucidation of dengue etiology.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19), emerged at the end of 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China, since then it has spread around the world causing a pandemic that caused many human and economic losses. Many myths arose about this virus because it was thought that it could have been developed in a laboratory as a type of biological weapon, that the mosquito that transmits dengue fever could also transmit SARS-CoV-2 and high or low temperatures could inactivate it. However, there is scientific evidence that has unmasked these myths, Molecular Biology techniques determined that it is not possible with current technology to produce a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus of this magnitude, since it is difficult to generate the precise mutations to determine that this virus was elaborated in a laboratory. It has also been observed that the virus is only transmitted by naturally produced aerosols such as saliva and so far, there is no evidence that shows the dengue mosquito transmits SARS-CoV-2. Similarly, it has been observed that pets can get this virus, but they do not have the ability to infect humans. Finally, high or low temperatures do not inactivate the virus, because as seen, infections by SARS-CoV-2 have occurred in people who live both at the equator and near the poles.