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      Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding rabies and exposure to bats in two rural communities in Guatemala

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          Abstract

          Background

          Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by rabies virus, of the genus Lyssavirus. The principal reservoir for rabies in Latin America is the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus), which feeds routinely on the blood of cattle, and when livestock are scarce, may prey on other mammals, including humans. Although rabies is endemic in common vampire bat populations in Guatemala, there is limited research on the extent of exposure to bats among human populations living near bat refuges.

          Results

          A random sample of 270 of 473 households (57%) in two communities located within 2 Km of a known bat roost was selected and one adult from each household was interviewed. Exposure to bats (bites, scratches or bare skin contact) was reported by 96 (6%) of the 1,721 residents among the selected households. Of those exposed, 40% received rabies post-exposure prophylaxis. Four percent of household respondents reported that they would seek rabies post exposure prophylaxis if they were bitten by a bat.

          Conclusions

          These findings demonstrate that exposure to bats in communities near bat roosts is common but recognition of the potential for rabies transmission from bats is low. There is a need for educational outreach to raise awareness of bat-associated rabies, prevent exposures to bats and ensure appropriate health-seeking behaviours for bat-inflicted wounds, particularly among communities living near bat roosts in Guatemala.

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          Most cited references27

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          Bats are a major natural reservoir for hepaciviruses and pegiviruses.

          Although there are over 1,150 bat species worldwide, the diversity of viruses harbored by bats has only recently come into focus as a result of expanded wildlife surveillance. Such surveys are of importance in determining the potential for novel viruses to emerge in humans, and for optimal management of bats and their habitats. To enhance our knowledge of the viral diversity present in bats, we initially surveyed 415 sera from African and Central American bats. Unbiased high-throughput sequencing revealed the presence of a highly diverse group of bat-derived viruses related to hepaciviruses and pegiviruses within the family Flaviridae. Subsequent PCR screening of 1,258 bat specimens collected worldwide indicated the presence of these viruses also in North America and Asia. A total of 83 bat-derived viruses were identified, representing an infection rate of nearly 5%. Evolutionary analyses revealed that all known hepaciviruses and pegiviruses, including those previously documented in humans and other primates, fall within the phylogenetic diversity of the bat-derived viruses described here. The prevalence, unprecedented viral biodiversity, phylogenetic divergence, and worldwide distribution of the bat-derived viruses suggest that bats are a major and ancient natural reservoir for both hepaciviruses and pegiviruses and provide insights into the evolutionary history of hepatitis C virus and the human GB viruses.
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            Rabies re-examined.

            Rabies is an acute, progressive, incurable viral encephalitis. The causative agents are neurotropic RNA viruses in the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus. Mammalian reservoirs include the Carnivora and Chiroptera, but rabid dogs still pose the greatest hazard worldwide. Viral transmission occurs mainly via animal bite, and once the virus is deposited in peripheral wounds, centripetal passage occurs towards the central nervous system. After viral replication, there is centrifugal spread to major exit portals, the salivary glands. The epidemiological significance of any host "carrier" state remains highly speculative. Although incubation periods average 1-3 months, disease occurrence days or years after exposure has been documented. Rabies should be suspected in patients with a concomitant history of animal bite and traditional clinical presentation, but a lack of such clues makes antemortem diagnosis a challenge. Pathogenetic mechanisms remain poorly understood, and current care entails palliative measures only. Current medical emphasis relies heavily on prevention of exposure and intervention before clinical onset. Prophylaxis encompasses thorough wound treatment, vaccine administration, and inoculation of rabies immunoglobulin. Although it is a major zoonosis, canine rabies can be eliminated, and application of new vaccine technologies permits significant disease control among wildlife species. Nevertheless, despite much technical progress in the past century, rabies is a disease of neglect and presents a modern public-health conundrum.
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              Haematophagous bats in Brazil, their role in rabies transmission, impact on public health, livestock industry and alternatives to an indiscriminate reduction of bat population.

              F Mayen (2003)
              Haematophagous bats exist only in Latin America, from México to the Northern provinces of Argentina. They are represented by three species, Desmodus rotundus, Diphylla ecaudata and Diaemus youngii. While two species feed only on blood of wild birds, one species, D. rotundus, causes losses feeding on livestock and could be a vector for rabies virus. The cases in which humans were bitten by the bat have increased in Brazil. Bats became a target of control activities by farming communities and local governments. Indiscriminate actions such as poisoning bats and destroying their roosts put the lives of other bat species, which are extremely important for the ecologic balance, at risk. The vaccination of exposed livestock against rabies, which would protect the endangered livestock, is not regularly carried out. The importance and current status of D. rotundus in the transmission of rabies in Brazil, the Public Health aspects, the importance for the livestock industry are shown and the consequences of reducing bat population are discussed. Alternatives to an indiscriminate bat-population reduction in the control of rabies are proposed.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                dmoran@ces.uvg.edu.gt
                pcjuliao@gmail.com
                dalvarez@ces.uvg.edu.gt
                kil2@cdc.gov
                hio6@cdc.gov
                Amy.T.Gilbert@aphis.usda.gov
                ige3@cdc.gov
                charles_rupprecht@yahoo.com
                sergio.recuenco@gmail.com
                Journal
                BMC Res Notes
                BMC Res Notes
                BMC Research Notes
                BioMed Central (London )
                1756-0500
                10 January 2015
                10 January 2015
                2015
                : 8
                : 1
                : 955
                Affiliations
                [ ]Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala
                [ ]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Regional Office for Central America and Panama, Guatemala City, Guatemala
                [ ]Global Disease Detection Branch, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
                [ ]USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO USA
                [ ]Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts West Indie
                [ ]Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA USA
                Article
                955
                10.1186/s13104-014-0955-1
                4302579
                25576098
                bd7f16a9-de83-42af-9d2a-12c587c19fe7
                © Moran et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 28 August 2014
                : 22 December 2014
                Categories
                Research Article
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2015

                Medicine
                rabies,bat bite,health practices,post-exposure prophylaxis,guatemala,rabies prevention,vampire bat

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