Detection of hantavirus in bats from remaining rain forest in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

• Grant number: 12/23792-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants - Publications - Scientific article
• Start date: March 01, 2013
• End date: August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Jansen de Araujo
• Grantee: Jansen de Araujo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe significant biodiversity found in Brazil is a potential for the emergence ofnew zoonoses. Study in some places of the world suggest of the presence tohantavirus in tissues of bats. Researches of hantavirus in wildlife, out rodents,are very scarce in Brazil. Therefore we decided to investigate in tissues ofdifferent species of wild animals captured in the same region where rodentswere detected positive for this virus. The present work analyzed ninety-oneanimals (64 rodents, 19 opossums, and 8 bats) from a region of the Atlanticforest in Biritiba Mirin City, São Paulo State, Brazil. Lungs and kidneys wereused for RNA extraction.FindingsThe samples were screened for evidence of hantavirus infection by SYBRGreen-based real-time RT-PCR. Sixteen samples positive were encounteredamong the wild rodents, bats, and opossums. The detection of hantavirus in thelungs and kidneys of three marsupial species (Micoureus paraguayanus,Monodelphis ihering, and Didelphis aurita) as well in two species of bats(Diphylla ecaudata and Anoura caudifer) is of significance because these newhosts could represent an important virus reservoirs.ConclusionsThe analysis of nucleotide sequences of the partial S segment revealed thatthese genes were more related to the Araraquara virus strains. This workreinforces the importance of studying hantavirus in different animal species and3performing a continued surveillance before this virus spreads in new hosts andgenerated serious problems in public health.KeywordsHantavirus; wild rodents; bats; remaining rain forest; Brazil (AU)