RESUMO
We detected arenavirus RNA in 1.6% of 1,047 bats in Brazil that were sampled during 2007-2011. We identified Tacaribe virus in 2 Artibeus sp. bats and a new arenavirus species in Carollia perspicillata bats that we named Tietê mammarenavirus. Our results suggest that bats are an underrecognized arenavirus reservoir.
Assuntos
Arenavirus , Quirópteros , Animais , Arenavirus/genética , Brasil/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Carnivores such as cats and minks are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Brazil is a global COVID-19 hot spot and several cases of human-to-cat transmission have been documented. We investigated the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by testing 547 domestic cats sampled between July-November 2020 from seven states in southern, southeastern, and northeastern Brazil. Moreover, we investigated whether immune responses elicited by enzootic coronaviruses affect SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats. We found infection with significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against the Gamma variant of concern, endemic in Brazil during 2020, than against an early SARS-CoV-2 B.1 isolate (p<0.0001), validating the use of Gamma for further testing. The overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Brazilian cats during late 2020 validated by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT90) was 7.3% (95% CI, 5.3-9.8). There was no significant difference in SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in cats between Brazilian states, suggesting homogeneous infection levels ranging from 4.6% (95% CI, 2.2-8.4) to 11.4% (95% CI, 6.7-17.4; p=0.4438). Seroprevalence of the prototypic cat coronavirus Feline coronavirus (FCoV) in a PRNT90 was high at 33.3% (95% CI, 24.9-42.5) and seroprevalence of Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) was low at 1.7% (95% CI, 0.2-5.9) in a PRNT90. Neutralizing antibody titers were significantly lower for FCoV than for SARS-CoV-2 (p=0.0001), consistent with relatively more recent infection of cats with SARS-CoV-2. Neither the magnitude of SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers (p=0.6390), nor SARS-CoV-2 infection status were affected by FCoV serostatus (p=0.8863). Our data suggest that pre-existing immunity against enzootic coronaviruses neither prevents, nor enhances SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats. High SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence already during the first year of the pandemic substantiates frequent infection of domestic cats and raises concerns on potential SARS-CoV-2 mutations escaping human immunity upon spillback.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Animais , Anticorpos Neutralizantes , Brasil/epidemiologia , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/veterinária , Gatos , Bovinos , Estudos SoroepidemiológicosRESUMO
Fusion genes involved in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occur mostly due to genetic and environmental factors, and only a limited number of studies have reported any ethnic influence. This study assesses whether an ethnic influence has an effect on the frequency of any of the four fusion genes: BCR-ABL1, ETV6-RUNX1, TCF3-PBX1, and MLL-AFF1 found in ALL. To study this ethnic influence, mononuclear cells were obtained from bone marrow samples from 143 patients with ALL. We performed RNA extraction and reverse transcription, then assessed the quality of the cDNA by amplifying the ABL1 control gene, and finally evaluated the presence of the four transcripts by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. We found 10 patients who had the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene (7%); 3 patients (2%) were TCF3-PBX1 positive; and 6 patients (4.5%) were ETV6-RUNX1 positive. The incidence of this last fusion gene is quite low when compared to the values reported in most countries. The low incidence of the ETV6-RUNX1 fusion gene found in Guatemala matches the incidence rates that have been reported in Spain and Indian Romani. Since it is known that an ethnic resemblance exists among these three populations, as shown by ancestral marker studies, the ALL data suggests an ethnic influence on the occurrence and frequency of this particular fusion gene.