RESUMEN
Eastern equine encephalitis is a viral zoonosis that exhibits complex distribution and epidemiology, and greater importance should be given to this disease by the public-health authorities. In Brazil, although eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) has been identified in vectors and antibodies are sometimes detected in horses and humans, there have been no records of equine encephalitis in horses caused by this virus during the last 24 years. This study describes eighteen cases of eastern equine encephalomyelitis that occurred in six Brazilian states between 2005 and 2009. Viral RNA was identified using semi-nested RT-PCR to detect members of the genus Alphavirus, and by genetic sequencing. The gene encoding NSP1 was partially amplified, and after genetic sequencing, eighteen sequences were generated. All eighteen strains were classified as belonging to lineage III of American EEEV. These findings could be an indication of the importance of this virus in animal and human public health.
Asunto(s)
Virus de la Encefalitis Equina del Este/patogenicidad , Encefalomielitis Equina Oriental/epidemiología , Enfermedades de los Caballos/epidemiología , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Tronco Encefálico/virología , Brasil/epidemiología , Cerebelo/virología , Virus de la Encefalitis Equina del Este/clasificación , Virus de la Encefalitis Equina del Este/genética , Encefalomielitis Equina Oriental/veterinaria , Encefalomielitis Equina Oriental/virología , Enfermedades de los Caballos/virología , Caballos/virología , Ratones , ARN Viral/aislamiento & purificación , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
Insectivorous bats are the main reservoirs of rabies virus (RABV) in various regions of the world. The aims of this study were to (a) establish genealogies for RABV strains from different species of Brazilian insectivorous bats based on the nucleoprotein (N) and glycoprotein (G) genes, (b) investigate specific RABV lineages associated with certain genera of bats and (c) identify molecular markers that can distinguish between these lineages. The genealogic analysis of N and G from 57 RABV strains revealed seven genus-specific clusters related to the insectivorous bats Myotis, Eptesicus, Nyctinomops, Molossus, Tadarida, Histiotus and Lasiurus. Molecular markers in the amino acid sequences were identified which were specific to the seven clusters. These results, which constitute a novel finding for this pathogen, show that there are at least seven independent epidemiological rabies cycles maintained by seven genera of insectivorous bats in Brazil.