Juan E Echevarría

Instituto de Salud Carlos III | ISCIII · Area of Virology

Background: Mumps is a viral infection mainly characterized by inflammation of the parotid glands. Despite of vaccination programs, infections among fully vaccinated populations were reported. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends molecular surveillance of mumps based on sequencing of the small hydrophobic (SH) gene. The use of hypervaria...

Background In countries entering the post-elimination phase for measles, the study of variants by sequencing of 450 nucleotides of the N gene (N450) does not always allow the tracing of chains of transmission. Indeed, between 2017 and 2020, most measles virus sequences belonged to either the MVs/Dublin.IRL/8.16 (B3-Dublin) or the MVs/Gir Somnath.IN...

Given sustained high vaccination coverage and enhanced surveillance for measles, Spain has been free of endemic measles transmission since 2014, achieving elimination certification from the World Health Organization in 2017. In November 2017, measles was introduced through an imported case travelling to the Valencian Community, causing an interregi...

Noroviruses are among the most important causes of acute gastroenteritis (AGE). In summer 2021, a large outbreak of norovirus infections affecting 163 patients, including 15 norovirus-confirmed food handlers, occurred in a hotel in Murcia in southeast Spain. A rare GI.5[P4] norovirus strain was identified as the cause of the outbreak. The epidemiol...

MuV caused three epidemic waves in Spain since genotype G emerged in 2005, despite high vaccination coverage. SH gene sequencing according to WHO protocols allowed the identification of seven relevant variants and 88 haplotypes. While the originally imported MuVi/Sheffield.GBR/1.05/-variant prevailed during the first two waves, it was subsequently...

The MMR vaccination program was introduced in Spain in 1981. Consistently high vaccination coverage has led to Spain being declared free of endemic measles transmission since 2014. A few imported and import-related cases were reported during the post-elimination phase (2014 to 2020), with very low incidence: three cases per million of inhabitants a...

España presenta una situación peculiar Europa, ya que nunca se vio afectada por la epizootia europea de rabia vulpina, pero mantiene un tráfico intenso de bienes y personas con territorios altamente endémicos del norte de África, e incluso fronteras terrestres en Ceuta y Melilla, lo que nos coloca en una situación vulnerable en cuanto a importación...

Rabies is enzootic in over one hundred countries worldwide. In the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), the vast majority of human rabies cases are travellers bitten by dogs in rabies-enzootic countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. Thus, EU/EEA travellers visiting rabies enzootic countries should be aware of the risk of being infected wit...

Adenoviruses are double-strained DNA viruses found in a great number of vertebrates, including humans. In order to understand their transmission dynamics, it is crucial, even from a human health perspective, to investigate how host traits influence their prevalence. Bats are important reservoirs for adenoviruses, and here we use the results of rece...

En la primavera de 2019 se ha producido en Madrid un aumento de casos de sarampión. El objetivo de este estudio es describir el tipo de muestras clínicas estudiadas y los resultados obtenidos en este brote. Entre el 1 de abril y el 25 de junio de 2019 se procesaron 193 muestras biológicas correspondientes a 109 sospechas clínicas de sarampión. Las...

The use of the rabies vaccine for post-exposure prophylaxis started as early as 1885, revealing a safe and efficient tool to prevent human rabies cases. Preventive vaccination is the basis for the control of canine-mediated rabies, which has already been eliminated from extensive parts of the world, including Europe. Plans to eliminate canine-media...

Cryptic speciation and hybridization are two key processes that affect the origin and maintenance of biodiversity and our ability to understand and estimate it. To determine how these two processes interact, we studied allopatric and sympatric colonies of two cryptic bat species (Eptesicus serotinus and E. isabellinus) with parapatric distribution...

Adenoviruses are double-strained DNA viruses found in a great number of vertebrates, including humans. In order to understand their transmission dynamics, it is crucial, even from a human health perspective, to investigate how host traits influence their prevalence. Bats are important reservoirs for Adenoviruses, and here we use the results of rece...

Immunocompromised patients are at significant risk from BKV reactivation, causing allograft dysfunction or loss. Patient management relies on viral DNA monitoring, using a viral load cut-off to reduce immunosuppression. However, consistency between viral load detection assays cannot be achieved without an effective means of standardisation. We have...

Introduction and objectives The MMR vaccine was included in the official vaccination schedule in Spain in 1981. Currently, most women of childbearing age are vaccinated and have not been naturally infected. Several studies have shown that vaccinated women have a lower antibody concentration than that achieved after natural infection, and a shorter...

Although Lloviu virus (LLOV) was discovered in the carcasses of insectivorous Schreiber's Bent-winged bats in the caves of Northern Spain in 2002, its infectivity and pathogenicity remain unclear. We examined the seroprevalence of LLOV in potentially exposed Schreiber's Bent-winged bats (n = 60), common serotine bats (n = 10) as controls, and human...

In October 2018, the order Mononegavirales was amended by the establishment of three new families and three new genera, abolishment of two genera, and creation of 28 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

With a highly immunized population, rubella infection in Spain is so low that the WHO has declared the elimination of rubella. Rubella in pregnant women is also very rare. The objective of this study is to describe the last cases of congenital rubella syndrome reported and recommend actions to maintain the status of the disease as eliminated. The C...

Background: Despite childhood universal VZV immunization was introduced in 2015, there are no data on VZV clade distribution in Spain. Objectives: To characterize the varicella-zoster virus strains circulating in Spain between 1997 and 2016. Study design: In this retrospective study, we determined the VZV clades in 294 patients with different...

With a highly immunized population, rubella infection is so low that WHO has declared the elimination of rubella in Spain. Rubella in pregnant women is also very rare. The objective of this study is to describe the last reported cases of congenital rubella syndrome and recommend actions to maintain the elimination status. The CRS reported to the Na...

In the context of long-term screening for viruses on Western Palaearctic bats, we tested for the presence of adenovirus 1392 oropharyngeal swabs and 325 stool samples taken from 27 bat species. Adenoviruses were detected in 12 species of the Vespertilionidae and the Rhinolophidae families. Fifty positive respiratory and 26 positive stool samples we...

In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.

In the context of long-term screening for viruses on Western Palaearctic bats, we tested for the presence of adenovirus 1.392 oropharyngeal swabs and 325 stool samples taken from 27 bat species. Adenoviruses were detected in 12 species of the Vespertilionidae and the Rhinolophidae families. Fifty positive respiratory and 26 positive stool samples w...

In recent decades, vaccination has substantially reduced the number of measles cases to levels close to the elimination stage. However, major measles outbreaks occurred in Europe during 2010–2012, after the introduction of the D4-Enfield lineage. We have performed a molecular characterization of 75 measles virus genotype D4 strains from patients in...

The lyssaviruses are an important group of viruses that cause a fatal encephalitis termed rabies. The prototypic lyssavirus, rabies virus, is predicted to cause more than 60 000 human fatalities annually. The burden of disease for the other lyssaviruses is undefined. The original reports for the recently described highly divergent Lleida bat lyssav...

All EBLV-1 strains used and their characteristics, including accession numbers of all sequences. (PDF)

Iberian EBLV-1b Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction based on 686 bp sequences of phosphoprotein after sampling 10,000,000 tree generations. Tree nodes show posterior probability. Two Iberian EBLV-1a sequences (2011_Riglos, 201539226_HU) have been included as outgroup. (TIF)

Iberian EBLV-1b Bayesian phylogenetic reconstruction based on 763bp of 5' terminal sequences of glycoprotein-polymerase’s intergenic region after sampling 10,000,000 tree generations. Tree nodes show posterior probability. Two Iberian EBLV-1a sequences (2011_Riglos, 201539226_HU) have been included as outgroup. (TIF)

Maximum clade credibility (MCC) phylogeny for all EBLV-1 nucleoprotein sequences. Blue node bars represent 95% highest posterior density (95% HPD) as Bayesian credible interval. Posterior values are shown as color-coded node dots, showing red as the highest posterior value. (TIF)

Background Since mumps vaccination was introduced in 1981 in Spain, the incidence of the disease has dropped significantly. However, cyclic epidemic waves and outbreaks still occur, despite high vaccination coverage. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends genotyping to trace the pattern of mumps virus (MuV) circulation. Genotype H was predo...

Introduction The aim of this study was to evaluate a cut-off point of the titration of IgG by ELISA in the diagnosis of mumps. Methods A study was made of serum samples from 85 mumps cases (confirmed by PCR in saliva) and 2351 controls of the general population of the Region of Madrid. Results The IgM detection was positive in 21 cases (sensitivi...

Previous studies have shown that EBLV-1 strains exclusively hosted by Eptesicus isabellinus bats in the Iberian Peninsula cluster in a specific monophyletic group that is related to the EBLV-1b lineage found in the rest of Europe. More recently, enhanced passive surveillance has allowed the detection of the first EBLV-1 strains associated to Eptesi...

Introduction During the final phase of measles elimination rigorous investigation of each individual case becomes fundamental to confirm or discard cases, particularly among vaccinated people, since they experience a milder disease, and laboratory diagnosis is more complex. Our study focused in the epidemiology of measles in vaccinated people. Met...

Poster accepted for presentation.

The mumps vaccine (Jeryl-Lynn-strain) was introduced in Spain in 1981, and a vaccination policy which included a second dose was added in 1995. From 1992-1999, a Rubini-strain based vaccine was administered in many regions but later withdrawn due to lack of effectiveness. Despite high levels of vaccination coverage, epidemics have continued to appe...

Accepted for publication

We detected Bartonella in 11 of 109 insectivorous bats from France and 1 of 26 bats from Spain. These genetic variants are closely related to bat-associated Bartonella described in Finland and the United Kingdom and to B. mayotimonensis, the agent of a human endocarditis case in the United States.

Geographic origins of bats samples in France and Spain and descriptive characteristics of Bartonella-positive bats.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate a cut-off point of the titration of IgG by ELISA in the diagnosis of mumps. Methods: A study was made of serum samples from 85 mumps cases (confirmed by PCR in saliva) and 2,351 controls of the general population of the Region of Madrid. Results: The IgM detection was positive in 21 cases (se...

All lyssaviruses (family Rhabdoviridae ) cause the disease rabies, an acute progressive encephalitis for which, once symptoms occur, there is no effective cure. Using next-generation sequencing, the full-genome sequence for a novel lyssavirus, Lleida bat lyssavirus (LLEBV), from the original brain of a common bent-winged bat has been confirmed.

SUMMARY This study has three main objectives: 1) to contribute to the knowledge of bat communities of Monfragüe and Cabañeros National Parks. 2) Conduct a comparative morphological and ecological study of two cryptic species of serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus and E. isabellinus) and 3) study the presence of rabies and herpes viruses in both spec...

A thorough search for bat herpesviruses was carried out in oropharyngeal samples taken from most of the bat species present in the Iberian Peninsula from the Vespertilionidae, Miniopteridae, Molossidae and Rhinolophidae families, in addition to a colony of captive fruit bats from the Pteropodidae family. By using two degenerate consensus PCR method...

Nomenclature, acronyms and GenBank accession numbers of published viruses. (DOCX)

Phylogenetic relationships of the potentially novel bat-hosted gammaherpesviruses. (DOCX)

Rabies is a zoonosis that causes acute encephalitis cases in humans as in mammals, and it is caused by several lyssaviruses. One of them is EBLV‐1, that is endemic from great part of Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula. Two different subtypes (EBLV‐1a and EBLV‐1b) have been described. This virus is mainly associated to the bat specie Eptesicus...

The National Plan for the Elimination of Rubella was implemented in Spain in 2008 using the logistics of the National Plan for the Elimination of Measles that have been employed since year 2000. Molecular characterization of rubella virus (RUBV) is important for disease surveillance and for monitoring elimination of the disease throughout the world...

Introduction: During the final phase of measles elimination rigorous investigation of each individual case becomes fundamental to confirm or discard cases, particularly among vaccinated people, since they experience a milder disease, and laboratory diagnosis is more complex. Our study focused in the epidemiology of measles in vaccinated people. M...

The Laboratory is a fundamental component on the surveillance of measles and rubella. Cases need to be properly confirmed to ensure an accurate estimation of the incidence. Strains should be genetically characterized to know the transmission pattern of these viruses and frequently, outbreaks and transmission chains can be totally discriminated only...

A 50-year-old male with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was treated with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab, which produced a complete remission. Eight months after the last dose of rituximab he had visual disturbance, diminished muscular strength in the right arm and vesicular-papular lesions in the left ophthalmic branch region of the...

All members of the lyssavirus genus cause the disease rabies. European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) viruses are divided genetically into three groups according to geographic location and host reservoir. We report here the first genome sequence for an EBLV-1 isolated from Eptesiscus isabellinus in the Iberian Peninsula, Spain.

Introduction: Measles virus (MeV) causes a highly contagious disease that is currently targeted for a National Plan Elimination in our country since 2001. The MV genotyping and phylogenetic analysis are an essential part to trace the chains of transmission and to determine the elimination of the virus. The genotype D4 caused massive outbreaks in Eu...

Mumps virus (MuV) was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 6 of 158 patients with meningitis or encephalitis in absence of clinical mumps in the context of mumps epidemics. Our results suggest the need for the study of MuV RNA in the CSF of neurological patients in this context.

Papillomaviruses (PVs) are widespread pathogens. However, the extent of PV infections in bats remains largely unknown. This work represents the first comprehensive study of PVs in Iberian bats. We identified four novel PVs in the mucosa of free-ranging Eptesicus serotinus (EserPV1, EserPV2, and EserPV3) and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (RferPV1) indiv...

Measles is a viral infection that was almost eradicated, but it is re-emerging in Spain and Europe in recent years. The aim of this study was to describe the microbiological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a measles outbreak that occurred in Guadalajara (Spain) from June to August 2012. A descriptive and retrospective study was con...

In order to investigate the etiology of viral neurological infections in Spain, a national study was performed in 2008. The results obtained have been published. Enteroviruses were the most frequent cause of the aseptic meningitis and infant febrile syndromes. The present report supplements the previous study with the genotyping of the detected ent...

Rhabdoviruses infect a variety of hosts, including mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects and plants. Since bats are the natural host for the majority of Lyssavirus, the specificity of the amplification methods used for active surveillance is usually restricted to lyssaviruses. However, the presence of other rhabdoviruses in bats has also been rep...

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a childhood illness frequently caused by genotypes belonging to the enterovirus A species, including coxsackievirus (CV)-A16 and enterovirus (EV)-71. Between 2010 and 2012, several outbreaks and sporadic cases of HFMD occurred in different regions of Spain. The objective of the present study was to describe th...

A list of 421 taxa belonging to 52 families, from the Ciudad Universitaria of Madrid (Spain) is presented. Spontaneous, naturalized and adventitious plants have been recorded. Life-form, chorological area, soil type and phytosociological characterization are reponed for each species. The results show that therophytes are the most abundant, probably...

The aim of this study was to evaluate enzyme immunoassays (EIA) (Euroimmun, Lübeck, Germany) and chemiluminiscent immunoassays (CLIA) (Diasorin, Saluggia, Italy) in their application to detect B19V-IgM and -IgG. For this purpose, one hundred and ninety samples were studied. Of them, 101 came from recent infection cases (B19V-specific IgM (86) and/o...

A new tentative lyssavirus, Lleida bat lyssavirus, was found in a bent-winged bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) in Spain. It does not belong to phylogroups I or II, and it seems to be more closely related to the West Causasian bat virus, and especially to the Ikoma lyssavirus.