Instituto Pasteur de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Vet Res Commun. 2024 Dec;48(6):4015-4020. doi: 10.1007/s11259-024-10558-y. Epub 2024 Sep 25.
Between December 2019 and January 2020, three cases of rabies were reported in free-ranging capybaras on Anchieta Island, Ubatuba-SP, Brazil. This 8.28 km² island is located 540 m offshore from the mainland. Two of the capybaras exhibited signs of hindlimb paralysis, and one was found dead. Rabies was diagnosed using the direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT), while RT-qPCR and phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences confirmed the presence of the vampire bat rabies virus (RABV) strain. Although no visible bat bite marks were found on the capybaras, vampire bats are known to inhabit the island. Other wildlife tested negative for rabies during this period, and no further rabies outbreaks have been observed since. Environmental changes and human activities, such as the disturbance of bat roosting sites, may have contributed to the incident. The detection of rabies in capybaras suggests a potential spillover from a vampire bat reservoir. Further investigation is needed to determine whether capybaras act as dead-end hosts or play a role in maintaining the rabies transmission cycle.
2019 年 12 月至 2020 年 1 月，巴西乌巴图巴市安奇埃塔岛（Ubatuba-SP）自由放养的水豚中报告了三例狂犬病病例。该岛面积 8.28 平方公里，距离大陆海岸 540 米。两只水豚出现后肢瘫痪症状，一只死亡。狂犬病的诊断采用直接荧光抗体试验（dFAT），而 RT-qPCR 和核苷酸序列的系统发生分析证实存在吸血蝙蝠狂犬病病毒（RABV）株。尽管在水豚身上未发现明显的蝙蝠咬伤痕迹，但已知吸血蝙蝠栖息在该岛上。在此期间，其他野生动物的狂犬病检测均为阴性，此后也未再观察到狂犬病爆发。环境变化和人类活动，如干扰蝙蝠栖息地，可能导致了此次事件。水豚中狂犬病的检出表明可能存在从吸血蝙蝠储存库溢出的情况。需要进一步调查以确定水豚是否作为终末宿主发挥作用，或在维持狂犬病传播循环中发挥作用。
