Calderón Alfonso, Guzmán Camilo, Oviedo-Socarras Teresa, Mattar Salim, Rodríguez Virginia, Castañeda Víctor, Moraes Figueiredo Luiz Tadeu
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production Husbandry, Institute for Biological Research in the Tropics (IIBT), University of Cordoba, Monteria 230002, Cordoba, Colombia.
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute for Biological Research in the Tropics (IIBT), University of Cordoba, Monteria 230002, Cordoba, Colombia.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2021 Mar 12;6(1):35. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed6010035.
Dengue, a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease, is the most common vector-borne disease in tropical and subtropical areas. In this study, we aim to demonstrate biological evidence of dengue virus infection in bats. A cross-sectional study was carried out in the departments of Cordoba and Sucre, Colombia. A total of 286 bats were captured following the ethical protocols of animal experimentation. The specimens were identified and euthanized using a pharmacological treatment with atropine, acepromazine and sodium pentobarbital. Duplicate samples of brain, heart, lung, spleen, liver, and kidney were collected with one set stored in Trizol and the other stored in 10% buffered formalin for histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis using polyclonal antibodies. Brain samples from lactating mice with an intracranial inoculation of DENV-2 were used as a positive control. As a negative control, lactating mouse brains without inoculation and bats brains negative for RT-PCR were included. Tissue sections from each specimen of bat without conjugate were used as staining control. In a specimen of captured in Ayapel (Cordoba) and captured in San Carlos (Cordoba), dengue virus was detected, and sequences were matched to DENV serotype 2. In bats RT-PCR positive for dengue, lesions compatible with viral infections, and the presence of antigens in tissues were observed. Molecular findings, pathological lesions, and detection of antigens in tissues could demonstrate viral DENV-2 replication and may correspond to natural infection in bats. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the exact role of these species in dengue epidemics.
登革热是一种由蚊子传播的人畜共患病，是热带和亚热带地区最常见的媒介传播疾病。在本研究中，我们旨在证明蝙蝠感染登革热病毒的生物学证据。在哥伦比亚的科尔多瓦省和苏克雷省进行了一项横断面研究。按照动物实验的伦理规范共捕获了286只蝙蝠。使用阿托品、乙酰丙嗪和戊巴比妥钠进行药物处理对标本进行鉴定并实施安乐死。采集脑、心脏、肺、脾脏、肝脏和肾脏的重复样本，一组保存在Trizol中，另一组保存在10%中性福尔马林中，用于使用多克隆抗体进行组织病理学和免疫组织化学分析。将经颅内接种DENV-2的泌乳小鼠的脑样本用作阳性对照。作为阴性对照，纳入未接种的泌乳小鼠脑和RT-PCR检测为阴性的蝙蝠脑。将未结合的每个蝙蝠标本的组织切片用作染色对照。在阿亚佩尔（科尔多瓦）捕获的1只蝙蝠标本和在圣卡洛斯（科尔多瓦）捕获的1只蝙蝠标本中检测到登革热病毒，其序列与DENV血清型2匹配。在登革热RT-PCR检测呈阳性的蝙蝠中，观察到与病毒感染相符的病变以及组织中存在抗原。分子研究结果、病理病变以及组织中抗原的检测可以证明病毒DENV-2的复制，并且可能对应于蝙蝠的自然感染。需要进一步的研究来阐明这些物种在登革热流行中的确切作用。
