Abstract
BackgroundRabies is a fatal infection of the central nervous system primarily transmitted by rabid animal bites. Rabies virus (RABV) circulates through two different epidemiological cycles: terrestrial and aerial, where dogs, foxes or skunks and bats, respectively, act as the most relevant reservoirs and/or vectors. It is widely accepted that insectivorous bats are not important vectors of RABV in Argentina despite the great diversity of bat species and the extensive Argentinean territory.MethodsWe studied the positivity rate of RABV detection in different areas of the country, and the antigenic and genetic diversity of 99 rabies virus (RABV) strains obtained from 14 species of insectivorous bats collected in Argentina between 1991 and 2008.ResultsBased on the analysis of bats received for RABV analysis by the National Rabies system of surveillance, the positivity rate of RABV in insectivorous bats ranged from 3.1 to 5.4%, depending on the geographic location. The findings were distributed among an extensive area of the Argentinean territory. The 99 strains of insectivorous bat-related sequences were divided into six distinct lineages associated with Tadarida brasiliensis, Myotis spp, Eptesicus spp, Histiotus montanus, Lasiurus blosseviilli and Lasiurus cinereus. Comparison with RABV sequences obtained from insectivorous bats of the Americas revealed co-circulation of similar genetic variants in several countries. Finally, inter-species transmission, mostly related with Lasiurus species, was demonstrated in 11.8% of the samples.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the presence of several independent enzootics of rabies in insectivorous bats of Argentina. This information is relevant to identify potential areas at risk for human and animal infection.
Highlights
Rabies is a fatal infection of the central nervous system primarily transmitted by rabid animal bites
It is widely accepted that insectivorous bats are not important vectors of Rabies virus (RABV) in Argentina despite the great diversity of bat species and the extensive Argentinean territory [4,5,6]
The success of vaccination programs meant that of 200 rabies cases reported for 2008–09, canine rabies only represented 14.5%, while rabies transmitted by insectivorous bats increased to 38%, and cattle remained constant (45.5%) [16]
Summary
Rabies is a fatal infection of the central nervous system primarily transmitted by rabid animal bites. In Argentina, successful vaccination and control of canine rabies in the 1980s revealed the importance of bats in RABV transmission. Two human rabies cases were associated with this species in 1997 and 2001 [2]. No cases have yet been associated with insectivorous bats, a stark contrast to the United States and Canada where these bats are the most common source of indigenously acquired human rabies infections [3]. It is widely accepted that insectivorous bats are not important vectors of RABV in Argentina despite the great diversity of bat species and the extensive Argentinean territory
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