Rabies diagnosis and serology in bats from the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Bats are one of the most important reservoirs and vectors of the rabies virus in the world. From 1988 to 2003, the Zoonosis Control Center in São Paulo City performed rabies diagnosis on 5,670 bats by direct immunofluorescent test and mouse inoculation test. Blood samples were collected from 1,618 b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 2011-03, Vol.44 (2), p.140-145
Main Authors: Almeida, Marilene Fernandes de, Martorelli, Luzia Fátima Alves, Sodré, Miriam Martos, Kataoka, Ana Paula Arruda Geraldes, Rosa, Adriana Ruckert da, Oliveira, Maria Lucia de, Amatuzzi, Elizabeth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibodies, Viral - immunology
Brasil
Brazil - epidemiology
Chiroptera - classification
Chiroptera - virology
Diagnóstico
Disease Reservoirs
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Mice
Prevalence
Quiróptero
Rabies - diagnosis
Rabies - epidemiology
Rabies - veterinary
Rabies virus - immunology
Rabies virus - isolation & purification
Raiva
Soroprevalência
TROPICAL MEDICINE
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Summary:Bats are one of the most important reservoirs and vectors of the rabies virus in the world. From 1988 to 2003, the Zoonosis Control Center in São Paulo City performed rabies diagnosis on 5,670 bats by direct immunofluorescent test and mouse inoculation test. Blood samples were collected from 1,618 bats and the sera were analyzed using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test to confirm rabies antibodies. Forty-four (0.8%) bats were positive for rabies. The prevalence of rabies antibodies was 5.9% using 0.5IU/ml as a cutoff. Insectivorous bats (69.8%) and bats of the species Molossus molossus (51.8%) constituted the majority of the sample; however, the highest prevalence of antibodies were observed in Glossophaga soricina (14/133), Histiotus velatus (16/60), Desmodus rotundus (8/66), Artibeus lituratus (5/54), Nyctinomops macrotis (3/23), Tadarida brasiliensis (3/48), Carollia perspicillata (3/9), Eumops auripendulus (2/30), Nyctinomops laticaudatus (2/16), Sturnira lilium (2/17) and Eumops perotis (1/13). The prevalence of rabies antibodies was analyzed by species, food preference and sex. The expressive levels of antibodies associated with the low virus positivity verified in these bats indicate that rabies virus circulates actively among them.
ISSN:0037-8682
1678-9849
1678-9849
DOI:10.1590/S0037-86822011005000011