RESUMO
Ranaviruses (Iridoviridae) are increasingly associated with mortality events in amphibians, fish, and reptiles. They have been recently associated with mass mortality events in Brazilian farmed tadpoles of the American bullfrog Rana catesbeiana Shaw, 1802. The objectives of the present study were to further characterize the virus isolated from sick R. catesbeiana tadpoles and confirm the etiology in these outbreaks. Sick tadpoles were collected in 3 farms located in Goiás State, Brazil, from 2003 to 2005 and processed for virus isolation and characterization, microbiology, histopathology, and parasitology. The phylogenetic relationships of Rana catesbeiana ranavirus (RCV-BR) with other genus members was investigated by PCR with primers specific for the major capsid protein gene (MCP) and the RNA polymerase DNA-dependent gene (Pol II). Sequence analysis and multiple alignments for MCP products showed >99% amino acid identity with other ranaviruses, while Pol II products showed 100% identity. Further diagnostics of the pathology including histology and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the viral etiology of these mass deaths. As far as we know, this is the first report of a ranaviral infection affecting aquatic organisms in Brazil. Additionally, our results suggest that American bullfrogs may have served as a vector of transmission of this virus, which highlights the potential threat of amphibian translocation in the world distribution of pathogens.
Assuntos
Infecções por Vírus de DNA/veterinária , Rana catesbeiana , Ranavirus/classificação , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Animais , Aquicultura , Brasil/epidemiologia , Infecções por Vírus de DNA/epidemiologia , Infecções por Vírus de DNA/virologia , Larva , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Proteínas Virais/química , Proteínas Virais/genética , Proteínas Virais/metabolismoRESUMO
O presente estudo objetivou estimar a prevalência de anticorpos contra o vírus da diarreia viral bovina (BVDV) em animais não vacinados e determinar os potenciais fatores de risco para a infecção em rebanhos bovinos no estado de Goiás, Brasil. Foram coletadas, entre março e setembro de 2002, amostras de soro de 3.533 animais em 888 propriedades localizadas em 232 municípios de Goiás. Essas amostras foram submetidas ao teste de soroneutralização e, em cada propriedade avaliada, aplicou-se um questionário epidemiológico para investigar possíveis fatores associados à infecção. Os dados obtidos foram analisados por meio do programa Epi Info versão 6.04. Adicionalmente, em 960 amostras soronegativas para anticorpos contra o BVDV, foi realizada pesquisa do antígeno viral, visando estimar a frequência de animais persistentemente infectados (PI). A soroprevalência para o BVDV foi de 64,0por cento em 784 amostras de soro e de 88,3por cento nas propriedades. Dos municípios estudados, 226 (97,4por cento) apresentaram, pelo menos, um animal/rebanho soropositivo. Em relação aos fatores de risco, apenas a idade mostrou-se associada à soropositividade nos animais, nas propriedades, nenhuma das variáveis analisadas foi considerada como fator de risco. A presença do antígeno viral foi detectada em quatro (0,4por cento) das amostras analisadas. Os resultados obtidos demonstram a expressiva disseminação do BVDV no rebanho bovino desta região.
This study was performed to estimate the seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in a population of non-vaccinated cattle in Goiás State, Brazil, and to determine the potential risk factors related to the seropositivity. Serum samples were collected from 3,533 animals of 888 herds from 232 municipalities in Goiás between March and September, 2002. These samples were submitted to the serumneutralization test and an epidemiological questionnaire was filled out for each herd to investigate variables that could be associated with this infection. The data were analyzed using Epi Info 6.04. In addition, 960 BVDV antibody-negative sera were further tested by antigen-ELISA in order to identify persistently infectedanimals (PI). The seroprevalence was 64.0% and 784 (88.3%) herds had at least one seropositive animal. Two hundred and twenty six (97.4%) municipalities showed at least one positive herd/animal. Only age influenced the presence ofneutralizing antibodies to this virus in animals. None of the exposure variablesanalyzed was considered as a risk factor for the infection with BVDV in cattleherds. Four (0.4%) of 960 seronegative samples were BVDV antigen positive. Based on these results, we concluded that BVDV infection is spread among cattle herds in Goiás State, Brazil.