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- Title
EVIDENCES OF NON-LETHAL RABIES VIRUS EXPOSURE IN FREE-RANGING WILD CARNIVORES FROM BRAZILIAN PAMPA.
- Authors
Padilha, Thamiris; Batista, Helena B. C. R.; Silva, Andrea C. R.; Cunha-Neto, Rene S.; Scheffer, Karin C.; Souza, Ugo; Peters, Felipe B.; Marks, Fernanda; Campos, Aline A. S.; Ogrzewalska, Maria; Jardim, Márcia M. A.; Trigo, Tatiane C.; Reck, José
- Abstract
Rabies virus (RABV) may infect wildlife, domestic mammals, and humans worldwide, and outbreaks have been associated with population declines of wild carnivores. Although RABV infection has been considered almost invariably fatal, there has been growing evidence of non-lethal RABV exposure in wildlife. The aim of this study is to investigate the occurrence of RABV antibodies, as evidence of non-lethal exposure to the virus in free-living wild canids and felids from the Brazilian Pampa. Animals were live-trapped in three protected and two unprotected areas in Southern Brazil, and the presence of antibodies against RABV was verified by the RFFIT test. A total of 98 specimens without clinical signs of disease were live-trapped: 35 Cerdocyon thous, 23 Lycalopex gymnocercus, 29 Leopardus geoffroyi, 11 Leopardus wiedii. Thirteen out of 98 wild carnivores were considered seropositive to RABV: five C. thous, one L. gymnocercus, five L. geoffroyi, and two L. wiedii. All five localities where animals were sampled had at least one seropositive individual. The results support previous conclusions regarding the possible involvement of C. thous in the rabies ecology and expand the findings of RABV-seropositivity in free-living wildlife, representing the first record for the following species: L. gymnocercus, L. geoffroyi, and L. wiedii. Our findings also suggest that RABV circulation and non-lethal exposure in Neotropical wild carnivores may be more common than previously assumed. Furthermore, rabies and its sylvatic cycle should be taken into account in any conservation effort for wild carnivores.
- Subjects
PAMPAS (Argentina); BRAZIL; RABIES virus; CARNIVOROUS animals; RABIES; SYMPTOMS; CANIDAE; DEMOGRAPHIC change
- Publication
Journal of Neotropical Mammalogy / Mastozoologia Neotropical, 2024, Vol 31, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
0327-9383
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.31687/saremMN.24.31.01.03.e0980