Isolation and molecular characterization of rabies virus from a non-hematophagous bat in Mexico City

Elizabeth Loza-Rubio; Cecilia C. de Mattos; Álvaro Aguilar Setién; Carlos A. de Mattos

2000, Number 2

<< Back Next >>

Vet Mex 2000; 31 (2)

Isolation and molecular characterization of rabies virus from a non-hematophagous bat in Mexico City

Loza-Rubio E, Mattos CC, Aguilar SA, Mattos CA

Full text

How to cite this article

Language: English/Spanish
References: 32
Page: 147-152
PDF size: 46.47 Kb.

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to characterize antigenically and genetically a rabies virus isolate obtained from an insectivorous bat Tadarida brasiliensis in Mexico City in 1995. At the time of the capture, the animal was presented with incoordination, hirsute hair and general weakness. The bat was positive for rabies using the direct immunofluorescence test. The antigenic characterization was carried out by the indirect immunofluorescence technique with a panel of 8 monoclonal antibodies produced against the viral nucleoprotein. A positive rabies sample isolated from a bovine bitten by a vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, was used as a control. Genetic studies were done by the limited sequencing analyses of a portion of 320 base pairs between positions 1094 and 1413 of the nucleoprotein gene. The genetic comparison of the samples was performed using the Pile Up- and Distance programs of the Genetic Computer Group package (GCG) version 8.1. The antigenic characterization showed that the bat sample was antigenic variant 9 which reservoir is the non-hematophagous bat Tadarida brasiliensis. The control virus was the antigenic variant 3. This variant is widely distributed throughout Latin America, and its reservoir is the Desmodus rotundus. Genetically, the Tadarida brasiliensis virus was 91.7% homologous to the bovine isolate, but showed a high degree of homology (99.7%) with rabies isolates obtained from Tadarida brasiliensis in the US. This finding suggests the possible occurrence of rabies endemic cycles in the Tadarida brasiliensis population of Mexico. The high diversity and population density of non hematophagous bats in Mexico, and the results presented here emphasize the need to further study about the role of non-hematophagous bats in rabies epidemiology in this country and other parts of Latin America.

REFERENCES

1. Tordo N, Kouknetzoff A. The rabies virus genome: an overview. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 1993;60: 263-269.
2. Acha PN, Arambulo III PV. Rabies in the tropics: history and current status. In: Kuwert E, Mérieux C, Koprowski H, Bögel K, editors. Rabies in the tropics. Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag, 1985:343-359.
3. Alvárez E, Ruiz A. La situación de la rabia en América Latina de 1990 a 1994. Bol Ofic Sanit Panam 1995;119:451-456.
4. Brass DA. Vampire bats of the American tropics. In: Brass DA, editor. Natural history and public health implications. Ridgefield (Co): Livia Press, 1994:57-82.
5. Smith JS. Rabies virus epitopic variation: use in ecologic studies. Virus Res 1989;36:215-253.
6. Brass DA. Prevalence and distribution of rabies in insectivorous bats. In: Brass DA, editor. Natural history and public health implications. Ridgefield (Co): Livia Press, 1994:131-162.
7. Krebs JW, Smith JS, Rupprecht CF, Childs JE. Rabies surveillance in the United States during 1996. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1997;211:1525-1539.
8. Dressen DW, Orciari LA, Rupprecht CE. The epidemiology of bat rabies in the southeastern United States 1990-1994. VII Annual International Meeting Advances Towards Rabies Control in the Americas; 1996 December 9-13; Atlanta (Ge). Atlanta (Ge): Panamerican World Organization, 1996:37.
9. Noah DL et al. Epidemiology of human rabbies in the United States, 1980 to 1996. Ann Intern Med 1998;128:922-930.
10. Lumio J, Hillborn M, Roine R, Ketonen L, Halthia M, Valle M, Neuvonen E, Lähdewita J. Human rabies of bat origin in Europe. Lancet 1986;1:378.
11. Selimov MA, Tatarov AG, Botvinkin AD, Klueva EV, Kulikova LG, Khismatullina NA. Rabies-related Yuli virus: identification with a panel of monoclonal antibodies. Acta Virol 1989;33:542-545.
12. King A, Davies P, Lawrie A. The rabies viruses in bats. Vet Microbiol 1990;23:165-174.
13. Tuttle MD. America’s neighborhood bats. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989.
14. Flores CR, Labrandero IE. Características más importantes para diferenciar a los murciélagos. Folleto técnico Nº 1. División Pecuaria. México (DF): Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, 1996:1-10.
15. Favi CM, Catalán GR. Rabia en murciélagos en Chile. Avanc Cienc Vet 1986;1:73-76.
16. Favi CM, Durán RJC. Epidemiología de la rabia en Chile (1929-1988) y perspectivas en mamíferos silvestres. Avanc Cienc Vet 1991;6:13-21.
17. Baer GM, Smith JS. Rabies in non-hematophagous bats. In: Baer GM, editor. The natural history of rabies. Boca Raton (Fl): CRC Press, 1991:341-366.
18. Organización Panamericana de la Salud/Organización Mundial de la Salud. Programa regional para la eliminación de la rabia humana en América Latina: análisis de progreso 1990-1996. X Reunión Interamericana de Salud Animal a Nivel Ministerial; 1997 abril 23-25; Washington (DC): OPS/OMS, 1997:1-17.
19. Barbour WB, Wayne HD. Bats of America. Lexington (Ke): The University Press of Kentucky, 1969.
20. Kaplan MM, Koprowski H. La rabia: técnicas de laboratorio. Génova, Suiza: Organización Mundial de la Salud, 1976:389.
21. Loza-Rubio E, Vargas R, Hernandez E, Batalla D, Aguilar SA. Investigation of rabies virus strains in Mexico with a panel of monoclonal antibodies used to classify lyssavirus. Bull Panam Health Org 1996;30:31-35.
22. Smith JS, King AA. Monoclonal antibodies for the identification of rabies and non-lyssaviruses. In: Meslin FX, Kaplan MM, Koprowski H, editors. Laboratory techniques in rabies. 4th ed. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 1996:145-156.
23. Diaz AM, Papo S, Rodriguez A, Smith JS. Antigenic analyses of rabies virus isolates from Latin American and the Caribbean. J Vet Med B 1994;41:153-160.
24. Smith JS. Rabies virus. In: Murray RP, Baron EJ, Pfaler MA, Tenover FC, Yolken RH, editors. Manual of clinical microbiology. Washington (DC): ASM Press; 1995:997-1003.
25. Genetics Computer Group. Program Manual for the Genetics Computer Group package, version 8.1. Madison (Wis): Genetics Computers Group, 1997.
26. Kimura MA. A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J Mol Evol 1980;16:111-120.
27. de Mattos CA, de Mattos CC, Smith JS, Miller ET, Papo S, Utrera A, Osburn BI. Genetic characterization of rabies field isolates from Venezuela. J Clin Microbiol 1996;34:1553-1558.
28. Favi CM, Yung PV, Pavletic BC, Ramirez VE. Role of insectivorous bats in the transmission of rabies in Chile. Antigenic characterization of field isolates. The 8th Annual Rabies in the Americas Conference; 1997 November 2-6; Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Queen’s University, 1997:37.
29. Hill JF, Smith JD. Bats-a natural history. London (UK): British Museum of Natural History, 1984.
30. De Mattos CC, de Mattos CA, Favi CM, Yung PV, Ramirez VE, Orciari LA, Smith JS. Genetic characterization of rabies isolates in Chile. The 8th Annual Rabies in the Americas Conference; 1997 November 2-6; Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Queen’s University, 1997:40.
31. Bahloul Ch, Badrane H, Sacramento D, Morgeaux S, Loza-Rubio E, Brochier B, et al. Molecular epidemiology of rabies and cross protection in Latin America. J Infect Dis 2000 (In press).
32. Lord R. Importancia de los murciélagos en la epidemiología de las zoonosis con énfasis en la rabia bovina. Publ Cient Org Panam Salud 1976;334:89-97.