VIROLOGICAL AND SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF RABIES IN BATS FROM AN URBAN AREA IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

The outbreaks of rabies in humans transmitted by Desmodus rotundus in 2004 and 2005, in the northeast of the Brazilian State of Para, eastern Amazon basin, made this a priority area for studies on this zoonosis. Given this, the present study provides data on this phenomenon in an urban context, in o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
Main Authors: Rubens Souza de OLIVEIRA, Lanna Jamile Corrêa da COSTA, Fernanda Atanaena Gonçalves de ANDRADE, Wilson UIEDA, Luzia Fátima Alves MARTORELLI, Ana Paula de Arruda Geraldes KATAOKA, Elizabeth Salbé Travassos da ROSA, Pedro Fernando da Costa VASCONCELOS, Armando de Souza PEREIRA, Antônio Ismael Barros do CARMO, Marcus Emanuel Barroncas FERNANDES
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2015
Subjects:
Bats
Rabies
Serology
Urban area
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Infectious and parasitic diseases
RC109-216
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S0036-46652015000600006
https://doaj.org/article/44761da296804e5b86a43e6cf4d6bb8b
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Summary:The outbreaks of rabies in humans transmitted by Desmodus rotundus in 2004 and 2005, in the northeast of the Brazilian State of Para, eastern Amazon basin, made this a priority area for studies on this zoonosis. Given this, the present study provides data on this phenomenon in an urban context, in order to assess the possible circulation of the classic rabies virus (RABV) among bat species in Capanema, a town in the Amazon basin. Bats were collected, in 2011, with mist nets during the wet and dry seasons. Samples of brain tissue and blood were collected for virological and serological survey, respectively. None of the 153 brain tissue samples analyzed tested positive for RABV infection, but 50.34% (95% CI: 45.67-55.01%) of the serum samples analyzed were seropositive. Artibeus planirostris was the most common species, with a high percentage of seropositive individuals (52.46%, 95% CI: 52.31 52.60%). Statistically, equal proportions of seropositive results were obtained in the rainy and dry seasons (c2 = 0.057, d.f. = 1, p = 0.88). Significantly higher proportions of males (55.96%, 95% CI: 48.96-62.96%) and adults (52.37%, 95% CI: 47.35-57.39%) were seropositive. While none of the brain tissue samples tested positive for infection, the high proportion of seropositive specimens indicates that RABV may be widespread in this urban area.

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