Neutralising antibodies for Mayaro virus in Pantanal, Brazil.
The Pantanal hosts diverse wildlife species and therefore is a hotspot for arbovirus studies in South America. A serosurvey for Mayaro virus (MAYV), eastern (EEEV), western (WEEV) and Venezuelan (VEEV) equine encephalitis viruses was conducted with 237 sheep, 87 free-ranging caimans and 748 equids, including 37 collected from a ranch where a neurologic disorder outbreak had been recently reported. Sera were tested for specific viral antibodies using plaque-reduction neutralisation test. From a total of 748 equids, of which 264 were immunised with vaccine composed of EEEV and WEEV and 484 had no history of immunisation, 10 (1.3%) were seropositive for MAYV and two (0.3%) for VEEV using criteria of a ≥ 4-fold antibody titre difference. Among the 484 equids without history of immunisation, 48 (9.9%) were seropositive for EEEV and four (0.8%) for WEEV using the same criteria. Among the sheep, five were sero- positive for equine encephalitis alphaviruses, with one (0.4%) for EEEV, one (0.4%) for WEEV and three (1.3%) for VEEV. Regarding free-ranging caimans, one (1.1%) and three (3.4%), respectively, had low titres for neutralising antibodies to VEEV and undetermined alphaviruses. The neurological disorder outbreak could not be linked to the alphaviruses tested. Our findings represent strong evidence that MAYV and all equine encephalitis alphaviruses circulated in the Pantanal.
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Alex
A
Pauvolid-Corrêa
Embrapa Pantanal, Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
Raquel Soares
RS
Juliano
Embrapa Pantanal, Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento, Corumbá, MS, Brasil.
Zilca
Z
Campos
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Jason
J
Velez
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Rita Maria Ribeiro
RM
Nogueira
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Nicholas
N
Komar
D000367:Age Factors; D000489:Alligators and Crocodiles / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000524:Alphavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004663:Encephalitis Virus, Eastern Equine / Q000276:immunology; D004666:Encephalitis Virus, Venezuelan Equine / Q000276:immunology; D004667:Encephalitis Virus, Western Equine / Q000276:immunology; D020242:Encephalomyelitis, Eastern Equine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D004685:Encephalomyelitis, Venezuelan Equine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D020241:Encephalomyelitis, Western Equine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006736:Horses / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012756:Sheep / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D053833:Wetlands
D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral