Persistence and dissemination of Vaccinia virus zoonotic infection in central west region of São Paulo State - Brazil

The aim of this study was to describe the persistence and dissemination of Vaccinia Virus (VACV) in Central West region of São Paulo State-Brazil and the zoonotic character of the disease. The work suggests viral circulation and maintenance of VACV by possible wildlife reservoir.O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a persistência, a disseminação e o caráter zoonótico do vírus Vaccinia (VACV) na região Centro-Oeste do Estado de São Paulo-Brasil. O trabalho sugere a circulação viral e a manutenção do VACV por um possível reservatório em animais silvestres

Evaluation of short-interfering RNAs treatment in experimental rabies due to wild-type virus

We have evaluated the efficacy of short-interfering RNAs targeting the nucleoprotein gene and also the brain immune response in treated and non-treated infected mice. Mice were inoculated with wild-type virus, classified as dog (hv2) or vampire bat (hv3) variants and both groups were treated or leaved as controls. No difference was observed in the lethality rate between treated and non-treated groups, although clinical evaluation of hv2 infected mice showed differences in the severity of clinical disease (p = 0.0006). Evaluation of brain immune response 5 days post-inoculation in treated hv2 group showed no difference among the analyzed genes, whereas after 10 days post-inoculation there was increased expression of 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 1, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 12, interferon gamma, and C-X-C motif chemokine 10 associated with higher expression of N gene in the same period (p < 0.0001). In hv2 non-treated group only higher interferon beta expression was found at day 5. The observed differences in results of the immune response genes between treated and non-treated groups is not promising as they had neither impact on mortality nor even a reduction in the expression of N gene in siRNA treated animals. This finding suggests that the use of pre-designed siRNA alone may not be useful in rabies treatment. Keywords: Rabies, Dog virus, Bat virus, siRN

Molecular detection of Leptospira spp. in small wild rodents from rural areas of São Paulo State, Brazil

ABSTRACT Background: Leptospirosis represents a One Health issue, affecting humans and animals. This study investigated pathogenic leptospires in small wild rodents in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: Kidney samples from 164 rodents underwent qPCR testing, targeting pathogenic Leptospira spp. Results: Thirty-five animals (21.34%) tested positive, including five rodent species: Akodon montensis (2/21; 9.5%), Necromys lasiurus (1/4; 25%), Oligoryzomys nigripes (24/92; 26.1%), Oligoryzomys flavescens (5/26; 19.2%), and Sooretamys angouya (3/14; 21.4%). Botucatu municipality exhibited the highest prevalence, with 42.5% (20/47) of the animals testing positive. Conclusions: The presence of Leptospira spp. in wild rodents suggests they may be chronic carriers, contaminating the environment

Ticks infesting wild small rodents in three areas of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT: From May to September 2011, a total of 138 wild rodents of the Cricetidae family were collected in the cities of Anhembi, Bofete and Torre de Pedra, in São Paulo State. All animals were examined for the presence of ticks, which were collected and identified at species level in the laboratory by morphological examination (for adults, nymphs and larvae) and molecular biology, by sequencing of a fragment of the 16S mitochondrial rDNA (for larvae). A total of 47 ticks (21 larvae and 26 nymphs) were collected from rodents, identified as 21 larvae and 23 nymphs of Amblyomma ovale (collected on Oligoryzomys nigripes , Oligoryzomys flavescens , Sooretamys agouya and Nectomys squamipes ), two nymphs of Ixodes schulzei (O. nigripes and O. flavescens ) and an Amblyomma sculptum nymph in S. agouya . The overall prevalence of parasitism by A. ovale was 4.3% for larvae, and 10.1% for nymphs. The mean intensity of parasitism was 3.5 larvae/parasitized animal, and 1.6 nymphs/parasitized animal. One O. nigripes was found parasitized by both larva and nymph of A. ovale , and another O. nigripes was parasitized simultaneously by an I. schulzei nymph and five A. ovale nymphs. This research reports the following unpublished records: A. ovale on O. flavescens , O. nigripes and S. agouya ; A. sculptum on S. agouya ; and I. schulzei on O. flavescens and O. nigripes

Mortalidade embrionária/fetal e abortos em suínos do Brasil

The objective was to evaluate the major infectious etiologies for embrionary/fetal mortality and abortion in pigs. Brazil is the world's fourth producer and third largest pork exporter. The causes of infectious abortion in swine are of the order of 40%, where the infections are the most important causes of reproductive disorders such as absorption, mummification, abortions, stillbirth and infertility. Due to high technification of swine in Brazil, a high density is found in animal farms, which lead to the virus are the main agents of reproductive disorders.O objetivo deste trabalho foi levantar as principais causas infecciosas de mortalidade embrionária/fetal e abortos em suínos. O Brasil é o quarto produtor mundial de carne suína e o terceiro maior exportador. As causas infecciosas de problemas reprodutivos na suinocultura são da ordem de 40%, onde as infecções são as causas mais importantes de reabsorção, mumificação, abortamentos, natimortos e infertilidade. Devido à alta tecnificação da suinocultura no Brasil, uma alta densidade animal é encontrada nas granjas, o que levam aos vírus serem os principais agentes infecciosos envolvidos