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The vaccinia virus (VACV), which causes exanthemous lesions in dairy cattle and humans, has been associated with several bovine vaccinia outbreaks in Brazil. Currently, no data are available about the safety of milk produced in VACV-affected areas. In this study, 47 milk samples were collected during bovine vaccinia outbreaks and submitted to viral isolation, DNA detection, and nucleotide sequencing of the conserved tk gene. The appearance of characteristic white pocks on the chorioallantoic membranes of chicken eggs, in association with viral cytopathic effects in chicken embryo fibroblasts and phylogenetic data, strongly suggest milk contamination by VACV. This is the first report of VACV detection in and isolation from milk.

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RESUMO O estudo da profilaxia da raiva humana contribui para orientação quanto ao uso de vacinas e soros antirrábicos, servindo de base para a definição de estratégias de prevenção, controle e avaliação da doença. Objetivou-se avaliar o atendimento antirrábico humano pós-exposição e possíveis incompatibilidades com o protocolo do Ministério da Saúde, em agressões por cães, no município de Belo Horizonte. Analisaram-se as fichas de atendimento antirrábico do SINAN para comparação dos tratamentos prescritos com as Normas de Profilaxia antirrábica do Ministério da Saúde. As características dos atendimentos foram: quanto à exposição, 93,0% decorrentes de mordedura; quanto à localização da agressão, 35,5% ocorreram nos membros inferiores; quanto ao ferimento, 62,0% foram lesões únicas; quanto ao tipo de ferimento, 65,8% foram superficiais; quanto à condição do animal, 85,0% ocorreram por animais sadios; em 83,4% dos casos os animais eram observáveis; quanto ao tratamento, observação e vacina (57,3%). O tratamento foi inadequado em 32,7% das condutas. O número de tratamentos instituídos foi muito elevado, 75,7% dos casos. De todos os atendimentos 21,2% das indicações foram consideradas excessivas e 11,5% insuficientes. O sistema de vigilância apresenta falhas e existe a necessidade de corrigi-las para que as informações referentes à finalização dos casos sejam conclusivas.

Bovine vaccinia (BV) is a zoonosis caused by Vaccinia virus (VACV), which affects lactating cows and milkers. VACV DNA and infectious particles have been detected in milk of naturally infected cows. However, the period and pattern of VACV shedding in milk is unknown, as is whether the presence of VACV in milk is due to a localized or a systemic infection. To address those questions, eight lactating cows were inoculated with VACV in previously scarified teats. The experiment was divided in two phases. In Phase 1, milk samples were collected daily for 33 days, and in Phase 2, four animals from the first phase were immunosuppressed. In both phases, milk was collected with a sterile catheter on even days and by hand milking on odd days. All animals showed typical BV lesions in the inoculated teats. All milk samples were subjected to nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR to detect VACV DNA. PCR-positive samples were subjected to virus isolation. VACV DNA was intermittently detected in milk in both phases and infectious viral particles could be detected only in phase 2, on the 69th, 73rd, 74th, 77th, 79th, and 81st days postinfection. Despite the possibility of propagation of VACV through milk, it is known that milk continues to be drawn and marketed normally during outbreaks of the disease. The detection of both VACV DNA and infectious particles in milk samples draws attention to the potential public health risk associated with the consumption of milk from BV outbreaks. Detection of VACV in the milk from noninfected teats demonstrated that VACV shedding in milk might be related to a systemic infection. Moreover, it was shown that VACV DNA and viral infectious particles could be detected in milk even after healing of the lesions, demonstrating that VACV may cause a persistent infection in cattle.

Bovine vaccinia (BV), a zoonosis caused by Vaccinia virus (VACV), affects dairy cattle and milkers, causing economic, veterinary and human health impacts. Despite such impacts, there are no experimental studies about the pathogenesis of BV in cows to assess whether there is a systemic spread of the virus and whether there are different ways of VACV shedding. Trying to answer some of these questions, a study was proposed using experimental inoculation of VACV in cows. All experimentally infected cows developed lesions compatible with VACV infection in cattle. Two of the six animals presented VACV DNA in blood and faecal samples, starting at the 2nd and the 3rd day post-infection (d.p.i.), respectively, and lasting until the 36th d.p.i., in an intermittent way. This study provides new evidence that VACV can be detected in blood and faeces of infected cows, suggesting that BV could be a systemic disease, and also bringing new information about the epidemiology and pathogenesis of BV.

Background: American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) is a widespread anthropozoonosis caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and is considered a serious public health problem. The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive analysis of confirmed ATL cases and evaluate the spatial distribution of ATL in high-risk transmission areas from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: An ecological, analytical, and retrospective study of the confirmed cases of ATL in Minas Gerais from 2007 to 2017 was conducted. To characterize these cases, multiple correspondence analysis and georeferencing of the ATL prevalence rates in the municipalities were conducted based on variables obtained at Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação and Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística databases. Results: There were 13,025 confirmed cases of ATL from 74.4% (635) municipalities of Minas Gerais, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 66.5 cases for every 100,000 inhabitants. Males aged 20 to 59 years and individuals who attended elementary school were most affected with ATL. Multiple correspondence analysis presented an accumulated qui-squared value of 44.74%, proving that there was a relationship between the variables, including ethnicity, age, pregnancy status, zone of infection, and number of cases. Conclusion: We confirmed that ATL is endemic to Minas Gerais, and there is high risk of infection within the municipalities due to a high rate of parasite transmission. The occurrence of infection in children, pregnant women, and the indigenous population demonstrates the need for the government to expand social policies aimed at vulnerable groups.

The wild cycle of rabies constitutes a serious challenge to epidemiological surveillance for disease control in domestic, companion or production animals, and in humans. The understanding of rabies virus circulation in the natural environment is increasingly important due to the constancy of natural reservoirs of the disease and the presence of potential vectors of the infection to humans and domestic animals. Aiming to evaluate the occurrence of rabies in the State of Sergipe a total of 935 hematophagous bats (Desmodus rotundus), 46 wild dogs (Cerdocyon thous) and 24 primates (Callithrix spp.) were analyzed from 1987 to 2014, of which 1 bat, 17 crab-eating foxes and no primates were positive. Due to the lack of positive results in hematophagous bats, the main vector of herbivorous rabies, more studies are needed to monitor cases, because from an epidemiological point of view, Sergipe is endemic for herbivorous rabies. Epidemiological surveillance of rabies virus in wild animals is primordial for the success of disease control programs in herds of domestic animals and humans.