Molecular and serological characterization of emergent virus in Brazilian wild animals samples

• Grant number: 17/23811-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: January 04, 2018
• End date: July 04, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Edison Luiz Durigon
• Grantee: Tatiana Ometto de Araujo
• Supervisor: Michael Kuang-An Lo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/03172-0 - Eco-epidemiology of West Nile virus and other current flavivirus in Pantanal, BP.PD

Abstract

Brazil is included among the countries in which there is great probability of the emergence of emerging zoonoses, due to its high biodiversity. The human populations advance into previously uninhabited regions, provoking rapid and uncontrolled deforestation without any concern for preserving the habitat of the native fauna is related to constant environmental disturbances into forest areas in various biomes. Our work is interested in analyzing samples from wild animals captured in Pantanal and nearby areas of forest for the detection of emerging viruses like viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), viruses including Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever, and Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever viruses, with particular emphasis on Nipah virus (VIN) and Hendra virus (HeV) that are paramyxoviruses capable of causing zoonotic severe disease in humans and animals. In Brazil, knowledge about these agents is scarce and serological and molecular tests may help in the investigation of these viruses, as demonstrated in a previous partnership with the publication: Antibodies Against Henipa-Like Viruses in Brazilian Bats, in 2017. (AU)