RESUMO
In 2018, an outbreak of human rabies caused by the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus hit the Brazilian Amazon Basin community of Melgaço, Brazil, resulting in the death of 10 people, 9 of them children. The incidence of rabies has been on the rise among populations in conditions of vulnerability in this ecosystem due to human expansion into sylvatic environments and limited access to public health services. To address this issue, in September 2019, a collaborative effort from national, local, and international institutions promoted and executed a pilot for pre-exposure prophylaxis of a population in high-risk areas for hematophagous bat-mediated rabies. This measure is usually only implemented in response to outbreaks. The pilot was conducted in Portel, in a nearby location to the previous outbreak, with the use of fluvial transportation, and 2987 individuals in 411 dwellings were successfully vaccinated. It established a methodology for pre-exposure prophylaxis for populations in conditions of vulnerability, identifying logistics and costs, as well as characterizing the target riverine population regarding risk factors associated with bites by hematophagous bats. This approach offers a proactive measure to prevent future outbreaks and provides valuable insights into how to address the issue of rabies in remote and difficult-to-reach areas.
RESUMO
Rabies is an acute, progressive zoonotic viral infection that in general produces a fatal outcome. This disease is responsible for deaths in humans and animals worldwide and, because it can affect all mammals, is considered one of the most important viral infections for public health. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of rabies in bats of different species found in municipalities of the state of Pará from 2005 to 2011. The rabies virus was detected in 12 (0.39%) bats in a total of 3100 analyzed, including hematophagous, frugivorous, and insectivorous bats. Of these, eleven were characterized as AgV3, which is characteristic of the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus (E. Geoffroy 1810); one insectivorous animal showed a different profile compatible with the Eptesicus pattern and may therefore be a new antigenic variant. This study identified the need for greater intensification of epidemiological surveillance in municipalities lacking rabies surveillance (silent areas); studies of rabies virus in bats with different alimentary habits, studies investigating the prevalence of AgV3, and prophylactic measures in areas where humans may be infected are also needed.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/virologia , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Raiva/veterinária , Animais , Animais de Zoológico , Antígenos Virais/genética , Brasil/epidemiologia , Variantes Farmacogenômicos , Raiva/epidemiologia , Vírus da Raiva/genéticaRESUMO
We genetically characterize rabies virus (RABV) strains isolated from human cases, domestic and wild animals during a human outbreak of bat-transmitted rabies in Augusto Correa municipality, Pará state, Brazilian Amazon in 2005. Partial nucleotide sequences of the N gene (491 bp) were obtained for all strains, and phylogenetic analysis grouped these into two major clades (Pará and Central-Southeast) and identified them as bat-related viruses genotype I, Desmodus rotundus antigenic variant 3 (AgV3). A molecular clock was used to estimate the time of emergence for each RABV isolate. The molecular data from this study suggest the association of vampire bats with human and domestic animal cases reported in the outbreak, the circulation of at least two predominant lineages in the Pará state, and also a geographic association to lineages dispersion.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/virologia , Surtos de Doenças , Vírus da Raiva/genética , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Raiva/epidemiologia , Raiva/virologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Brasil/epidemiologia , Criança , Primers do DNA/genética , DNA Viral/genética , Vetores de Doenças , Feminino , Genes Virais , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Epidemiologia Molecular , Proteínas do Nucleocapsídeo/genética , Filogenia , Raiva/transmissão , Vírus da Raiva/classificação , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
A ocorrência recente de surtos de raiva humana transmitida por morcegos hematófagos Desmodus rotundus vem sendo registrada no Estado do Pará desde 2004. Neste artigo, é realizado um estudo retrospectivo de caracterização genética de 37 cepas do vírus rábico de diferentes mamíferos, incluindo o homem, isoladas de 2000 a 2005, de diferentes regiões paraenses. Foi obtido o sequenciamento nucleotídico parcial do gene N e construída árvore filogenética baseada no método Neighbor-joining. A análise filogenética determinou a formação de cinco clades principais e agrupou as cepas isoladas no Estado do Pará em três distintas clades: clade I, cepas da variante antigênica 3 (VAg3), comumente encontrada nos morcegos D. rotundus; clade II, cepa relacionada à VAg3, porém com topologia diferenciada isolada de morcego frugívoro Uroderma bilobatum; e clade IV, cepas da variante antigênica 2 (VAg2), comumente isoladas de cães domésticos. No Pará, no período estudado, circularam as variantes VAg2 e VAg3. A VAg3 da clade I se encontra subdividida em três linhagens virais (I-a, I-b, e I-c) associadas à distribuição geográfica: duas delas (I-a e I-b) circulam no continente nas regiões paraenses do Sudeste, Nordeste e Baixo Amazonas, enquanto a linhagem I-c restringe-se à ilha do Marajó. A associação dos dados genéticos com os ecológicos fornece uma melhor compreensão da epidemiologia molecular da raiva no Estado do Pará e sugere que duas distintas variantes antigênicas isoladas do vírus da raiva foram associadas com a transmissão da doença por morcegos hematófagos entre 2000 e 2005. Finalmente, foi demonstrado neste estudo a presença de pelo menos três distintas linhagens genéticas de VAg3 no estado, e a emergência de uma possível nova variante, que foi isolada de um morcego frugívoro U. bilobatum capturado na localidade de Ajará, município de Portel, durante o surto ocorrido em 2004.