Experimental infection of the bat tick Carios fonsecai (Acari: Ixodidae) with the rabies virus

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Silvana Regina Favoretto, Marilene Fernandes de Almeida, Luzia Fatima Alves Martorelli, Caroline Cotrin Aires, Marcelo Bahia Labruna, Ana Paula Arruda Geraldes Kataoka, Angelica Cristine de Almeida Campos, Debora Regina Veiga Sacramento, Edison Luiz Durigon, Hilary Koprowski
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013
• Subjects: Rabies; Bats; Ticks; Carios fonsecai; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-1673-2013; https://doaj.org/article/1c37f26ea34b4120b2c32e7fad9e51e4

Introduction This study assessed the viability of the rabies virus in the argasid tick Carios fonsecai following experimental infection. Methods The mouse inoculation test (MIT), fluorescent antibody test (FAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used. The rabies virus was administered to ticks via the intra-coelomic route, and the ticks were sacrificed at different time points. Results The inoculated ticks were negative for rabies according to the MIT. Ticks macerated with rabies virus were positive according to the MIT and FAT. All of the tick lots tested by PCR were positive. Conclusions The rabies virus became unviable shortly after its inoculation into tick bodies. Ticks are not likely to play an important role in the epidemiology of rabies.