Bat rabies in Guatemala.

James A Ellison,Leonard F Peruski,Charles E Rupprecht,Kim A Lindblade,David Moran,Danilo A Alvarez,Daniel L Garcia,Sergio Recuenco,Natalia Kuzmina,Amy T Gilbert,Mary T Mendonça,Maya Williams

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003070

Abstract

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.

Highlights

Bats (Order: Chiroptera) have been implicated as hosts and reservoirs for numerous emerging infectious diseases, and are considered one of the most relevant groups of mammals in the study of disease ecology [1]
Considering the diversity and zoonotic potential of pathogens detected to date, the most pressing zoonotic threat from bats in Guatemala is Rabies virus (RABV), the only Lyssavirus documented in the New World [9]
Combined with molecular epidemiology, enhanced and passive surveillance are used to define the geographic distribution of rabies virus (RABV) variants, infer the temporal and spatial spread of infections associated with diverse reservoir hosts, identify spillover infections into humans, and to devise relevant prevention and control based upon such information [11,12,13]

Summary

Introduction

Bats (Order: Chiroptera) have been implicated as hosts and reservoirs for numerous emerging infectious diseases, and are considered one of the most relevant groups of mammals in the study of disease ecology [1]. As one representative global disease detection site established by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, enhanced rabies surveillance and pathogen discovery over the past five years targeting bats has facilitated the discovery of numerous novel viral and bacterial agents [5,6,7,8]. Considering the diversity and zoonotic potential of pathogens detected to date, the most pressing zoonotic threat from bats in Guatemala is Rabies virus (RABV), the only Lyssavirus documented in the New World [9]. Combined with molecular epidemiology, enhanced and passive surveillance are used to define the geographic distribution of RABV variants, infer the temporal and spatial spread of infections associated with diverse reservoir hosts, identify spillover infections into humans, and to devise relevant prevention and control based upon such information [11,12,13]. In Latin America, RABV is classically recognized as two broadly distinct epizootiological forms or ‘cycles’, one ‘urban’, in which dogs may serve as the primary reservoir host and vector, and the other as a so-called rural or ‘sylvatic’ cycle, involving wildlife [13]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion