EVIDENCE OF THE AERO-TERRESTRIAL LINK IN RABIES VIRUS ISOLATIONS FROM ARGENTINA

GURY DOHMEN, F. E.; CARABALLO, D. A.; BELTRÁN, F. J.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; XXIX Rabies in the Americas; 2018

Canine rabies control has been achieved in Argentina during the 80s. Despite this, positive cases are sporadically detected in border areas. In addition, some positive cases in cats and dogs with no evident epidemiological link were registered. During the 90s, with the incorporation of Monoclonal Antibodies from the CDC (USA) to the Instituto de Zoonosis Luis Pasteur, allowed the identification of bat-borne rabies virus in terrestrial animals. The first of such cases was registered in 1992, a virus variant 3 present in a Chacoan crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), a natural vampyre bat predator.Since then, with the incorporation of sequence-based typing, a total of 14 spillover events were detected. Most isolations were remitted by laboratories from the Red Nacional de Rabia. The majority of cases were from the province of Córdoba (42.8 %) and Buenos Aires (28.5 %), the remaining (28.4 %) involves CABA, Chaco, Salta, Río Negro in similar proportions. Variant 4 (71% of total isolations), was detected in 75% of dogs and cats cases, and in an Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus). Virus variants associated to Eptesicus spp (14.2 % of total isolations) were found in 33.3 % of cat cases, while those associated with Myotis spp (7.1 % of total isolations) were found in 16.6 % of dog cases. Most cases occurred during temperate/warm months in the intervals 1992-2002 (21.4%), 2008-13 (50.0%) and 2017-12 (28.6 %). Spillovers are not frequent but are still possible events. Together with the recurrence of urban canine rabies in Salta and Jujuy (the two provinces limiting with Bolivia), spillovers enhance the need for maintaining epidemiological surveillance, vaccination coverage in cats and dogs and the diffusion of the problem to both the population and health professionals.