The Mayaro virus is a mosquito-borne pathogen endemic to certain humid forests in South America, which belongs to the family Togaviridae; it is closely related to the Chikungunya virus. Infection with Mayaro causes an acute, self-limited dengue-like illness lasting three to five days. The transmission cycle of Mayaro in the wild is similar to that of yellow fever, and is believed to involve monkeys as the reservoir and the canopy-dwelling Haemagogus mosquito as the vector. Mayaro occurred in a metropolitan environment for the first time in 2011, when no less than thirty-three cases occurred in Manaus, Brazil. This also uncovered mild bleeding symptoms, which were previously unknown as part of Mayaro.
