Seroprevalence of flaviviruses antibodies in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)in Brazilian Amazon

BackgroundThe state of Pará encompasses 26% of Brazilian Amazon where an enormous diversity of arboviruses has been found. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and distribution of hemagglutination-inhibition antibodies against antigens of six Flavivirus(yellow fever virus, Ilheus virus, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, Cacipacore virus, Bussuquara virus and Rocio virus) in water buffaloes in Pará state, Brazil. The prevalence of antibodies in these farm animals is important to determine the circulating arboviruses.FindingsAll investigated arboviruses were detected in the species studied and our results indicate that water buffaloes are susceptible to Flavivirusinfection. Furthermore, there is solid evidence of active circulation of these viruses in the Brazilian Amazon.ConclusionsWater buffaloes showed higher prevalence of heterotypic antibody reactions and we hypothesized that they can serve as sentinels to detect the movement of such arboviruses in the Brazilian Amazon.

研究背景：帕拉州（Pará）占巴西亚马逊地区总面积的26%，该区域已发现种类极为丰富的虫媒病毒（arbovirus）。本研究旨在检测巴西帕拉州水牛体内针对6种黄病毒属（Flavivirus）病毒抗原的血凝抑制抗体（hemagglutination-inhibition antibodies）的流行率与分布特征，这6种病毒分别为：黄热病毒（yellow fever virus）、伊卢斯病毒（Ilheus virus）、圣路易斯脑炎病毒（Saint Louis encephalitis virus）、卡西帕科雷病毒（Cacipacore virus）、布斯苏夸拉病毒（Bussuquara virus）以及罗西奥病毒（Rocio virus）。明确该家畜群体的抗体流行率，对确定当前流行的虫媒病毒至关重要。研究结果：本次受试的所有虫媒病毒均在水牛体内检出，结果证实水牛对黄病毒属病毒感染具有易感性。此外，本研究为这些病毒在巴西亚马逊地区的活跃传播提供了坚实证据。研究结论：水牛的异型抗体反应流行率更高，据此我们推测，水牛可作为哨兵动物，用于监测巴西亚马逊地区此类虫媒病毒的传播动向。