First report of rabies in vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) in an urban area, Ubatuba, São Paulo state, Brazil

Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo

Claudia Ferraz²  Samira Maria Achkar¹  Ivanete Kotait¹ 

[1] ,Ubatuba Zoonosis Control CenterSão Paulo,Brazil

关键词: Hematophagous bat;    Rabies;    Urban area;    São Paulo;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0036-46652007000600010

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

The purpose of this report is to record the first case of a hematophagous bat (Desmodus rotundus) infected with rabies virus in an urban area in Brazil. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first such case in Latin America. After discovering a bat in his garden at 10 o'clock in the morning, a resident of Ubatuba municipality asked the Zoonosis Control Center team to visit his home. The animal was caught alive on the same day and sent to the Pasteur Institute laboratory, where it was identified as a Desmodus rotundus specimen. Standard tests for rabies diagnosis were carried out (direct immunofluorescence and viral isolation), and the results were positive. The presence of different species of (primarily insectivorous) bats in urban areas represents a serious public health problem. This case, however, is indicative of a much greater risk because the species in question has hematophagous habits, what means this animals has a low energy reserves and, therefore, its need to feed daily.

【 授权许可】

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