Isolation of Microascus sp. and Cephalotheca sp. from Bats in Argentina.

Bats worldwide play significant roles in ecosystem functions, encompassing pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control while concurrently serving as diseases reservoirs. As part of a comprehensive wildlife health surveillance effort, bats were systematically sampled within two national protected areas in Argentina. During this study 67 bats were examined and samples were collected from eight Molossus spp. individuals exhibiting conspicuous yellowish or white lesions on their noses. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar and lactrimel agar for fungal growth evaluation. Fungal isolates were identified using morphologic and molecular taxonomic techniques, leading to the detection of Microascus sp. in three Molossus rufus from Ibera National Park and Cephalotheca sp. in five Molossus molossus from Marsh Deer National Park. No fungal growth was identified in samples collected from the healthy hairs of the bats displaying lesions on their noses. The two fungi, which have not previously been isolated from bats, should be considered potentially pathogenic, evidenced by diseased hairs in the affected individuals.

Filling the gaps in the Argentinian distribution of orthohantavirus: First finding of Lechiguanas virus in rodents from Corrientes, Argentina.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is an emerging infectious disease caused by orthohantaviruses in the Americas. In Argentina, since 1995, several reservoirs and virus variants have been described, but the northeastern and central endemic zones in the country include an area without human or rodent infections, despite sharing rodent species with areas with that disease. The aim of this study was to search for orthohantavirus in rodent communities that inhabit this area, which borders two endemic areas of HPS. Small rodents were captured in June of 2022 through a total effort of 644 trap nights distributed in five grids located in the Iberá National Park, Corrientes, Northeastern Argentina. All rodents were sexed, weighed, and the species was recorded. Blood samples were extracted to detect ANDV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), and to extract the RNA virus. Trimmed sequences were mapped against reference sequences from GenBank. We captured a total of 36 Oligoryzomys flavescens and 15 Oxymycterus rufus. We detected the O. flavescens species infected with Lechiguanas orthohantavirus in the camping area of the National Park. A nucleotide comparison with previously published sequences shows a 98.34% similarity to the virus obtained from a human case of HPS reported in the adjacent Misiones province. This study demonstrated, for the first time, that O. flavescens is a host of the Lechiguanas orthohantavirus in this zone and contributes to closing information gaps on the distribution of orthohantavirus in Argentina. Additionally, the high similarity with the hantavirus found in the human case of Misiones suggests that the reservoir in that province would also be O. flavescens (not previously confirmed). This information permits us to focus on the preventive measurements to protect the human population.