More than a decade of reports of rabies in herbivores and loss of bats' habitat in the state of Rondônia

Abstract

This study aimed to conduct a retrospective study of rabies cases in herbivores in the state of Rondônia, from 2002 to 2014, and the relation of epidemic peaks to anthropized areas of the Amazon rainforest, mainly associated with the loss of bats' natural habitat. For this purpose, data related to the species affected, month, year and the geographic coordinates of the places where the cases occurred were collected. They were inserted in the Epi InfoTM 7.1.5.2 platform and QGIS Version 2.14.1 to determine Pearson frequency, distribution, regression, and linear correlation. During the period, 170 bovine animals and 19 horses were diagnosed with the disease, in 47 municipalities of the 52 existing ones. Regarding habitat loss, especially in municipalities with a high incidence of notifications, these were related to a series of forest clearance events, such as the construction of hydroelectric plants and the convergence of immigration flows to the state of Rondônia, with the expansion of the National agricultural frontier. Positive cases in herbivores were observed in all years of the study, with an average of 14 cases/year and a trend of seasonality during the rainy season. In a general context, there was a decrease of 1.9% in positive tests in relation to negative tests, each year of the period and the reduction in municipalities affected.