Rabies Virus Variants Detected from Cougar (Puma concolor) in Mexico 2000–2021

Abstract

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) recognized Mexico as a country free of human rabies transmitted by dogs. Nevertheless, the sylvatic cycle remains as a public health concern in the country. Although cougars (Puma concolor) are not reservoirs of any rabies virus variant (RVV), these felines could act as vectors at the top of the food chain, and their relationships with other organisms must be considered important for the regulatory effect on their prey’s populations. In this study, genetic and antigenic characterization was performed on all cougar rabies cases diagnosed at the Rabies Laboratory Network of the Ministry of Health (RLNMH) in Mexico from 2000 to 2021. Samples from other species, a skunk, a horse (Equus caballus) (attacked by a cougar), and a gray fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus), were included as reference. Rabies cases in cougars were restricted to two Northern states of Mexico (Sonora and Chihuahua). Five out of six samples of cougars were RVV7 (Arizona gray fox RVV) and one from Sonora was RVV1. Interestingly, there is no evidence of RVV1 in dogs in the Northern states since the 1990s but skunk species now harbor this RVV1 in this region of the country.

Rabies virus in white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in Mexico: what do we know so far?

“…RT-PCR was used to amplify a nucleoprotein region using the following primers: 550 FW (5′ATG TGY GCT AAY TGG AGY AC 3′) and 304 RABV (5′ TTG ACG AAG ATC TTG CTC AT 3′). Amplification products and partial sequencing were performed as described in Garcés-Ayala et al ( 7 ).…”

“…The last case of human rabies transmitted by dogs in Mexico occurred in 2005. The decrease in the incidence of human rabies could be mainly attributed to the massive vaccination campaigns that have been carried out since the 1990s as well as the efficient epidemiological surveillance system ( 7 ). In 2019, Mexico obtained recognition from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for being the first country in the world to have met the requirements to be validated as a country free of human rabies transmitted by dogs ( 8 ).…”

A Global Perspective on Oral Vaccination of Wildlife Against Rabies

“…Given the broad distribution, relative abundance, extreme adaptability, and high vagility of this mesocarnivore, the ERR program is feasible, but will not be simple, rapid, or inexpensive. Moreover, outside Texas, gray fox foci perpetuate in the southwestern region, together with other mesocarnivores, with no enhanced surveillance, ORV, or other interventions (Garce ´s-Ayala et al 2022;Ortega-Sa ´nchez et al 2022). Quite curiously, the CST of bat RABV clusters among foxes and skunks in Arizona are unique globally and continue to reemerge, without adequate explanation (Leslie et al 2006;Kuzmin et al 2012;Ma et al 2023).…”