Detection of antibodies against Icoaraci, Ilhéus, and Saint Louis Encephalitis arboviruses during yellow fever monitoring surveillance in non‐human primates (Alouatta caraya) in southern Brazil

Abstract

Background Free‐ranging non‐human primates (NHPs) can host a variety of pathogenic microorganisms, such as arboviruses, which include the yellow fever virus (YFV). This study aimed to detect the circulation of YF and other arboviruses in three wild Alouatta caraya populations in forests in southern Brazil. Methods We collected 40 blood and serum samples from 26 monkeys captured/recaptured up to four times from 2014 to 2016, searching for evidence of arboviruses by virus isolation, PCR, and neutralization tests. Results Viral isolation and genome detection were negative; however, we detected neutralizing antibodies against the Saint Louis, Ilhéus, and Icoaraci viruses in three NHPs. Conclusions Saint Louis Encephalitis, Ilhéus, and Icoaraci viruses circulated recently in the region. Future studies should investigate the role of NHPs, other vertebrate hosts and wild vectors in the region's arbovirus circulation and the potential risks of the arboviruses to wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.

Howler monkey tolerance to habitat shrinking: Lifetime warranty or death sentence?

“…Small populations can also be important sources of uncommon genetic variability (Oklander et al, ) and individuals resistant to YF (Almeida et al, ; Almeida, Santos, Cardoso, Noll, et al, ). Assuming that the offspring of these individuals inherit resistance and breed either in their natal or in other populations, the proportion of resistant alleles might increase in the metapopulation, potentially promoting the lowering of the impact of future disease outbreaks.…”

Fatal Outcome of Ilheus Virus in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of a Patient Diagnosed with Encephalitis

“…Since its initial isolation, ILHV has been isolated or detected primarily in arboreal mosquitoes [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], birds [ 10 , 11 ], and humans [ 8 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ] throughout Central America (Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama), the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago), and South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela), suggesting a broad geographic range of transmission. Various serological surveys showed the presence of ILHV-neutralizing antibodies in rodents [ 20 ], coatis [ 10 ], birds [ 6 , 10 , 20 , 21 ], horses [ 22 , 23 ], sentinel [ 8 ] and wild monkeys [ 10 , 20 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and humans [ 1 , 17 , 18 , 20 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Survey on Non-Human Primates and Mosquitoes Does not Provide Evidences of Spillover/Spillback between the Urban and Sylvatic Cycles of Yellow Fever and Zika Viruses Following Severe Outbreaks in Southeast Brazil

“…Therefore, we suspected that the PRNT results of these specific animals were consequences of non-specific virucidal agents, inactivating or reducing viruses' adsorption capacity in the cellular monolayer. In addition to the already known cross-reaction between Flavivirus [24,57,61], this non-specific agent explains the high degree of cross-reactivity with the other virus tested, especially in the hemolyzed samples. This hypothesis was confirmed by ELISA assays, which did not recognize specific immunoglobulins in any of the 13 available sera against any of the tested viruses (ZIKV, DENV, YFV) ( Table 2).…”

“…The same authors concluded that the difficulty of capturing these animals and the almost always fatal effect of some YFV strains on this NHP genus reduce the chances of finding immunized howler monkeys. In fact, Almeida et al (2019) did not find any Alouatta caraya immunized in Rio Grande do Sul after the largest outbreak of YFV reached the region [51,57]. The encounter of non-immune howlers after the outbreak is worrisome because, although the size of the remaining populations is unknown, it could indicate that the Atlantic forest is still vulnerable to the circulation of YFV, as demonstrated by the recent finding of an infected Alouatta g. clamitans in the same area as the virus was detected in 2017 [58].…”