Laboratory investigation of human deaths from vampire bat rabies in Peru.

Abstract

Abstract. In the spring of 1996, multiple cases of an acute febrile illness resulting in several deaths in remote locations in Peru were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The clinical syndromes for these cases included dysphagia and encephalitis. Because bat bites were a common occurrence in the affected areas, the initial clinical diagnosis was rabies. However, rabies was discounted primarily because of reported patient recovery. Samples of brain tissue from two of the fatal cases were received at CDC for laboratory confirmation of the rabies diagnosis. An extensive array of tests on the formalin-fixed tissues confirmed the presence of both rabies viral antigen and nucleic acid. The virus was shown to be most closely related to a vampire bat rabies isolate. These results indicate the importance of maintaining rabies in the differential diagnosis of acute febrile encephalitis, particularly in areas where exposure to vampire bats may occur.

Rabia en Potos flavus identificados en el departamento de Madre de Dios, Perú

“…En el Perú, los brotes de rabia silvestre han sido documentados en poblaciones humanas residentes de la selva, la mayoría de casos estuvieron asociados con el murciélago hematófago común (Desmodus rotundus) (3,(5)(6)(7) , también existe evidencia de circulación del virus en murciélagos no hematófagos como Tadarida brasiliensis y Lasiurus cinereus lo cual sugiere trasmisión interespecie (8) .…”

“…En el periodo 2010-2012, el 41,4% de casos de rabia humana en Latinoamérica y el Caribe procedieron del Perú. En el 2012, en la región de las Américas, se registraron 24 casos de rabia humana, once de los cuales correspondieron a rabia transmitida por murciélagos (diez procedentes de Perú y uno de Brasil) (2)(3)(4) .En el Perú, los brotes de rabia silvestre han sido documentados en poblaciones humanas residentes de la selva, la mayoría de casos estuvieron asociados con el murciélago hematófago común (Desmodus rotundus) (3,(5)(6)(7) , también existe evidencia de circulación del virus en murciélagos no hematófagos como Tadarida brasiliensis y Lasiurus cinereus lo cual sugiere trasmisión interespecie (8) .El Potos flavus, conocido comúnmente como "chosna" (Figura 1), es un mamífero arbóreo y frugívoro que ocupa los bosques tropicales desde México hasta …”

Molecular characterization of rabies virus isolated from non-haematophagous bats in Brazil

“…In Latin America, the haematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus is the major responsible for the aerial cycle with important role in the transmission of the disease to livestock animals 8 as well as the critical source of infection to human rabies [9][10][11] . Aggression by Desmodus rotundus is currently the main cause of human rabies in Brazil, and a great number of rabies cases on nonhaematophagous bat species have been diagnosed, although with no human cases 5 .…”

Enzootic and Epizootic Rabies Associated with Vampire Bats, Peru

“…In communities where vampire bats commonly feed on humans, the frequency of outbreaks depends on the transmission dynamics within the local vampire bat populations (9,10). Unfortunately, recent outbreaks in native communities of the Amazon region have been poorly characterized because of cultural constraints and local beliefs that have precluded investigators from obtaining diagnostic specimens (11).…”