Title
Abortive vampire bat rabies infections in peruvian peridomestic livestock
Date Issued
01 June 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Benavides J.A.
Velasco-Villa A.
Godino L.C.
Satheshkumar P.S.
Ruby N.
Rojas-Paniagua E.
Streicker D.G.
Publisher(s)
Public Library of Science
Abstract
Rabies virus infections normally cause universally lethal encephalitis across mammals. However, ‘abortive infections’ which are resolved prior to the onset of lethal disease have been described in bats and a variety of non-reservoir species. Here, we surveyed rabies virus neutralizing antibody titers in 332 unvaccinated livestock of 5 species from a vampire bat rabies endemic region of southern Peru where livestock are the main food source for bats. We detected rabies virus neutralizing antibody titers in 11, 5 and 3.6% of cows, goats and sheep respectively and seropositive animals did not die from rabies within two years after sampling. Seroprevalence was correlated with the number of local livestock rabies mortalities reported one year prior but also one year after sample collection. This suggests that serological status of livestock can indicate the past and future levels of rabies risk to non-reservoir hosts. To our knowledge, this is the first report of anti-rabies antibodies among goats and sheep, suggesting widespread abortive infections among livestock in vampire bat rabies endemic areas. Future research should resolve the within-host biology underlying clearance of rabies infections. Cost-effectiveness analyses are also needed to evaluate whether serological monitoring of livestock can be a viable complement to current monitoring of vampire bat rabies risk based on animal mortalities alone.
Volume
14
Issue
6
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Virología
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85087415273
PubMed ID
Source
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
ISSN of the container
19352727
Sponsor(s)
We thank Arnaldo Cayllagua, Carlos Tello and all farmers involved in this study for their cooperation and help with livestock sampling. We thank Yoshinori Nakazawa and Christina Hutson for helpful suggestions on the manuscript. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC or the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus