Yellow Fever Virus Genotyping Tool Using RT-qPCR Followed by Nucleotide Sequencing and Phylogenetic Analysis

Yellow fever is an infectious disease preventable by vaccination. The vaccine is composed of a live attenuated virus that, in some cases, may lead to adverse events, as neurological or viscerotropic disease. The differentiation between serious adverse vaccine events and natural infection by yellow fever virus is essential, especially in yellow fever endemic areas. Here we describe a genotyping tool to distinguish the vaccine from wild-type viruses. Experimental assays confirmed the discrimination between South American I and vaccine viruses, but in silico analyses also show its potential to be used for the differentiation of all yellow fever virus genotypes.