Full text
| |
| Author(s): |
Jaqueline Raymondi Silva
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Ribeirão Preto. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) |
| Defense date: | 2010-07-05 |
| Examining board members: |
Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo;
Afonso Dinis Costa Passos;
Aramis Augusto Pinto
|
| Advisor: | Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo |
| Abstract | |
Arboviruses are a serious public health problem in Brazil and, from these, the most important are caused by Flavivirus. Eleven Flavivirus have been described in Brazil. Of these, Saint Louis Encephalitis Virus (SLEV) and Rocio Virus (ROCV) are major public health problems and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis Serocomplex. West Nile Virus (WNV), introduced in the American continent in 1999, has not yet been detected in Brazil. In this study, it was evaluated the circulation of SLEV, WNV and ROCV in horses, by viral isolation attempts and a serosurvey. Viral isolation attempts were performed in 11 brain tissues of horses from Paraíba state with negative results. It was used for the serosurvey, an IgG-ELISA with recombinant peptides of domain III of SLEV, WNV and ROCV envelope protein as antigens. Sera from 753 animals from São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Paraíba states were tested, and 271 of them were positive for SLEV (35,98%), 254 for WNV (33,73%) and 144 for ROCV (19,12%). Therefore, this ELISA has been a suitable approach for diagnosis of ancient infections by these viruses. An intense circulation of flaviviruses infecting horses was observed in the study sites. Besides, it was found, for the first time, the presence of WNV in Brazil, infecting horses from all the studied states with the only exception of Minas Gerais. Finally, serosurvey in horses proved to be an appropriate approach for surveillance of Flavivirus infections by SLEV, WNV and ROCV. (AU) | |