| Grant number: | 16/02568-2 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |
| Start date: | June 01, 2016 |
| End date: | March 31, 2019 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology |
| Principal Investigator: | Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo |
| Grantee: | Gilberto Sabino dos Santos Junior |
| Host Institution: | Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 14/02438-6 - Studies with Bunyaviridae that produce human disease, AP.TEM |
Abstract A complex mix of predisposing factors in our modern world has created new opportunities for the emergence of infectious diseases in animals and humans alike. This is largely related to globalization and environmental changes such as degradation, which increases the changing nature of contacts between animals and humans. Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on the planet, and viruses that have their origin in animal world cause most of these emerging diseases in humans. Small mammals such as small rodents, marsupials, and especially bats are important reservoirs of viruses. During the period from June 2008 to April 2014 we captured 1440 wild small mammals in the north-eastern São Paulo region, and North of Minas Gerais state. Samples such as excreta (faeces and urine), blood, saliva, tissues of organs: heart, lung, spleen, liver and kidneys were collected and preserved in liquid nitrogen, and finally stored at ultra freezers - 80°C with a fruitful end: the viral meta-genomics. We also intend to conduct captures of small mammals for one year in all regions of Brazil to increase the samples' number. All ecological data of small mammals are and will be recorded in a database, as well as environmental data that will help on viral ecology analysis. Therefore, it is proposed here to detect emerging viruses, in particular hantavirus, arenavirus, and influenza virus by viral meta-genomic techniques among small wild mammals and their ectoparasites in order to understand the viral ecology: (i) viral diversity, (ii) community structure from the natural reservoirs, and (iii) philogeography; and discover new viral species that might help elucidate evolutionary gaps. Thus, we intend to understand the dynamics of infections in nature and predict, perhaps, future threats to animals and humans health. (AU) | |
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