RESUMO
Mongooses, a nonnative species, are a known reservoir of rabies virus in the Caribbean region. A cross-sectional study of mongooses at 41 field sites on the US Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas captured 312 mongooses (32% capture rate). We determined the absence of rabies virus by antigen testing and rabies virus exposure by antibody testing in mongoose populations on all three islands. USVI is the first Caribbean state to determine freedom-from-rabies for its mongoose populations with a scientifically-led robust cross-sectional study. Ongoing surveillance activities will determine if other domestic and wildlife populations in USVI are rabies-free.
Assuntos
Animais Selvagens/virologia , Reservatórios de Doenças/virologia , Herpestidae/virologia , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Estudos Transversais , Vírus da Raiva/classificação , Vírus da Raiva/genética , Ilhas Virgens AmericanasRESUMO
The direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA), is performed in all rabies reference laboratories across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Despite DFA being a critical capacity in the control of rabies, there is not a standardized protocol in the region. We describe the results of the first inter-laboratory proficiency exercise of national rabies laboratories in LAC countries as part of the regional efforts towards dog-maintained rabies elimination in the American region. Twenty three laboratories affiliated to the Ministries of Health and Ministries of Agriculture participated in this exercise. In addition, the laboratories completed an online questionnaire to assess laboratory practices. Answers to the online questionnaire indicated large variability in the laboratories throughput, equipment used, protocols availability, quality control standards and biosafety requirements. Our results will inform actions to improve and harmonize laboratory rabies capacities across LAC in support for the regional efforts towards elimination of dog-maintained rabies.
Assuntos
Doenças do Cão/diagnóstico , Ensaio de Proficiência Laboratorial/normas , Saúde Pública , Vírus da Raiva/imunologia , Raiva/diagnóstico , Animais , Encéfalo/virologia , Região do Caribe , Erradicação de Doenças , Doenças do Cão/prevenção & controle , Doenças do Cão/virologia , Cães , Técnica Direta de Fluorescência para Anticorpo , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional , Internet , América Latina , Controle de Qualidade , Raiva/prevenção & controle , Raiva/virologia , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
On December 1, 2015, the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) was notified by a local hospital of a suspected human rabies case. The previous evening, a Puerto Rican man aged 54 years arrived at the emergency department with fever, difficulty swallowing, hand paresthesia, cough, and chest tightness. The next morning the patient left against medical advice but returned to the emergency department in the afternoon with worsening symptoms. The patient's wife reported that he had been bitten by a mongoose during the first week of October, but had not sought care for the bite. While being transferred to the intensive care unit, the patient went into cardiac arrest and died. On December 3, rabies was confirmed from specimens collected during autopsy. PRDH conducted an initial rapid risk assessment, and five family members were started on rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).
Assuntos
Mordeduras e Picadas , Herpestidae/virologia , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Raiva/diagnóstico , Raiva/transmissão , Animais , Busca de Comunicante , Evolução Fatal , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Profilaxia Pós-Exposição , Porto Rico , Raiva/prevenção & controleRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by rabies virus, of the genus Lyssavirus. The principal reservoir for rabies in Latin America is the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), which feeds routinely on the blood of cattle, and when livestock are scarce, may prey on other mammals, including humans. Although rabies is endemic in common vampire bat populations in Guatemala, there is limited research on the extent of exposure to bats among human populations living near bat refuges. RESULTS: A random sample of 270 of 473 households (57%) in two communities located within 2 Km of a known bat roost was selected and one adult from each household was interviewed. Exposure to bats (bites, scratches or bare skin contact) was reported by 96 (6%) of the 1,721 residents among the selected households. Of those exposed, 40% received rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. Four percent of household respondents reported that they would seek rabies post exposure prophylaxis if they were bitten by a bat. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that exposure to bats in communities near bat roosts is common but recognition of the potential for rabies transmission from bats is low. There is a need for educational outreach to raise awareness of bat-associated rabies, prevent exposures to bats and ensure appropriate health-seeking behaviours for bat-inflicted wounds, particularly among communities living near bat roosts in Guatemala.
Assuntos
Quirópteros , Vetores de Doenças , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Raiva/transmissão , Animais , Estudos Transversais , Guatemala/epidemiologia , HumanosRESUMO
Rabies in bats is considered enzootic throughout the New World, but few comparative data are available for most countries in the region. As part of a larger pathogen detection program, enhanced bat rabies surveillance was conducted in Guatemala, between 2009 and 2011. A total of 672 bats of 31 species were sampled and tested for rabies. The prevalence of rabies virus (RABV) detection among all collected bats was low (0.3%). Viral antigens were detected and infectious virus was isolated from the brains of two common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). RABV was also isolated from oral swabs, lungs and kidneys of both bats, whereas viral RNA was detected in all of the tissues examined by hemi-nested RT-PCR except for the liver of one bat. Sequencing of the nucleoprotein gene showed that both viruses were 100% identical, whereas sequencing of the glycoprotein gene revealed one non-synonymous substitution (302T,S). The two vampire bat RABV isolates in this study were phylogenetically related to viruses associated with vampire bats in the eastern states of Mexico and El Salvador. Additionally, 7% of sera collected from 398 bats demonstrated RABV neutralizing antibody. The proportion of seropositive bats varied significantly across trophic guilds, suggestive of complex intraspecific compartmentalization of RABV perpetuation.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/virologia , Vírus da Raiva/isolamento & purificação , Raiva/veterinária , Estruturas Animais/virologia , Animais , Análise por Conglomerados , Feminino , Guatemala/epidemiologia , Masculino , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Filogenia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Raiva/epidemiologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Proteínas Estruturais Virais/genéticaRESUMO
Polyomaviruses (PyVs) have been identified in a wide range of avian and mammalian species. However, little is known about their occurrence, genetic diversity and evolutionary history in bats, even though bats are important reservoirs for many emerging viral pathogens. This study screened 380 specimens from 35 bat species from Kenya and Guatemala for the presence of PyVs by semi-nested pan-PyV PCR assays. PyV DNA was detected in 24 of the 380 bat specimens. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the bat PyV sequences formed 12 distinct lineages. Full-genome sequences were obtained for seven representative lineages and possessed similar genomic features to known PyVs. Strikingly, this evolutionary analysis revealed that the bat PyVs were paraphyletic, suggestive of multiple species jumps between bats and other mammalian species, such that the theory of virus-host co-divergence for mammalian PyVs as a whole could be rejected. In addition, evidence was found for strong heterogeneity in evolutionary rate and potential recombination in a number of PyV complete genomes, which complicates both phylogenetic analysis and virus classification. In summary, this study revealed that bats are important reservoirs of PyVs and that these viruses have a complex evolutionary history.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/virologia , DNA Viral/genética , Evolução Molecular , Variação Genética , Genoma Viral , Polyomavirus/genética , Polyomavirus/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Análise por Conglomerados , DNA Viral/química , Guatemala , Quênia , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Filogenia , Polyomavirus/classificação , Análise de Sequência de DNARESUMO
Influenza A virus reservoirs in animals have provided novel genetic elements leading to the emergence of global pandemics in humans. Most influenza A viruses circulate in waterfowl, but those that infect mammalian hosts are thought to pose the greatest risk for zoonotic spread to humans and the generation of pandemic or panzootic viruses. We have identified an influenza A virus from little yellow-shouldered bats captured at two locations in Guatemala. It is significantly divergent from known influenza A viruses. The HA of the bat virus was estimated to have diverged at roughly the same time as the known subtypes of HA and was designated as H17. The neuraminidase (NA) gene is highly divergent from all known influenza NAs, and the internal genes from the bat virus diverged from those of known influenza A viruses before the estimated divergence of the known influenza A internal gene lineages. Attempts to propagate this virus in cell cultures and chicken embryos were unsuccessful, suggesting distinct requirements compared with known influenza viruses. Despite its divergence from known influenza A viruses, the bat virus is compatible for genetic exchange with human influenza viruses in human cells, suggesting the potential capability for reassortment and contributions to new pandemic or panzootic influenza A viruses.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/virologia , Vírus da Influenza A/genética , Filogenia , Animais , RNA Polimerases Dirigidas por DNA/metabolismo , Genes Reporter/genética , Genoma Viral/genética , Geografia , Guatemala , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/química , Glicoproteínas de Hemaglutininação de Vírus da Influenza/genética , Humanos , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Neuraminidase/química , Neuraminidase/genética , Análise de Sequência de DNARESUMO
To better understand the role of bats as reservoirs of Bartonella spp., we estimated Bartonella spp. prevalence and genetic diversity in bats in Guatemala during 2009. We found prevalence of 33% and identified 21 genetic variants of 13 phylogroups. Vampire bat-associated Bartonella spp. may cause undiagnosed illnesses in humans.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Animais/microbiologia , Infecções por Bartonella , Bartonella/genética , Quirópteros/microbiologia , Doenças dos Animais/sangue , Doenças dos Animais/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Animais/transmissão , Animais , Técnicas de Tipagem Bacteriana , Bartonella/classificação , Bartonella/isolamento & purificação , Infecções por Bartonella/sangue , Infecções por Bartonella/epidemiologia , Infecções por Bartonella/microbiologia , Infecções por Bartonella/transmissão , Infecções por Bartonella/veterinária , Quirópteros/sangue , Quirópteros/classificação , Reservatórios de Doenças , Variação Genética , Guatemala , Humanos , Filogenia , Filogeografia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Prevalência , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
Bats are known reservoirs for numerous emerging infectious diseases, occupy unique ecological niches, and occur globally except for Antarctica. Given their impact on human and agricultural health, it is critical to understand the mechanisms underlying immunocompetence in this reservoir host. To date, few studies have examined immune function in the Order Chiroptera, particularly among natural colonies of bats. The phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin test has been widely used to measure delayed-type cellular immune response in a wide variety of vertebrates, and has been routinely employed in immunoecological studies. Although this test is frequently described as a measure of T cell proliferation, recent studies indicate it may represent a combination of immune responses. In mammals, the immune response is differentially, temporally and spatially regulated, therefore, we characterized the infiltrating leukocyte response to the PHA skin test in bats by examining a time-series of histological sections from PHA and saline injection areas in 41 Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). Results suggest that bats exhibit diverse leukocyte traffic within 6 h, and up to 24 h following subcutaneous PHA injection. There was a significant presence of lymphocytes and neutrophils, as well as eosinophils, basophils, and macrophages observed in the PHA-injected tissues, compared with saline-injected control tissues. We observed a highly significant negative correlation between the number of lymphocytes and neutrophils in PHA-injected tissue, with peak lymphocyte response at 12 h, and peak neutrophil response at 24 h post-injection. These results indicate substantial variation in the immune response of individuals, and may aid our understanding of disease emergence in natural populations of bats.
Assuntos
Quirópteros/imunologia , Imunidade Celular/imunologia , Fito-Hemaglutininas , Animais , Feminino , Linfócitos/imunologia , Masculino , Testes CutâneosRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and characteristics of spit (smokeless)-tobacco (ST) use in rookie baseball players as they enter the professional ranks and to identify factors associated with use before entering professional baseball. DESIGN AND SETTING: This cross-sectional study was an anonymous questionnaire survey administered during the 1999 baseball season by professional baseball athletic trainers at 30 professional baseball clubs. SUBJECTS: The target group was all rookie professional baseball players entering professional baseball. Of 862 eligible players in the summer of 1999, 616 participated in the survey. MEASUREMENTS: The questionnaire assessed tobacco use, demographic variables relevant to rookie professional baseball players, and factors hypothesized to be associated with current ST use (ie, other forms of tobacco use, social norms, environmental cues, and risky behavior intentions). Univariate associations with ST use were described by relative risks with 95% confidence intervals. For continuous variables, mean values of ST users and nonusers were compared. RESULTS: Overall, 67% of the players had tried ST and 31% were current users. Significant risk factors for ST use were being a current cigarette or cigar smoker, having a family member who used ST, and perceiving ST use by peers and role models. CONCLUSIONS: Almost one third of rookie baseball players in the 1999 season were regular ST users on entering professional baseball. Interventions for prevention and cessation of the use of ST targeting young baseball players are needed.