Lack of serological and molecular evidences of Zika virus circulation in non-human primates in three states from Brazil

BACKGROUND Zika virus (ZIKV) was discovered in 1947 with the virus isolation from Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) in Uganda forest, Africa. Old World Primates are involved in a sylvatic cycle of maintenance of this arbovirus, however a limited knowledge about the role of New World primates in ZIKV transmission cycles has been established. OBJECTIVE This work aimed to investigate the presence of enzootic circulation of ZIKV in New World Primates from three Brazilian states: São Paulo, Paraíba, and Paraná. METHODS We analyzed 100 non-human primate samples collected in 2018 and 2020 from free-ranging and captive environments from São Paulo (six municipalities belonging to Sorocaba region), Paraíba (João Pessoa municipality), and Paraná (Foz do Iguaçu municipality) using reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase reaction (RT-qPCR) assays, indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). FINDINGS All samples (n = 141) tested negative for the presence of ZIKV genome from tissue and blood samples. In addition, all sera (n = 58) from Foz do Iguaçu’ non-human primates (NHPs) were negative in serological assays. MAIN CONCLUSION No evidence of ZIKV circulation (molecular and serological) was found in neotropical primates. In addition, the absence of antibodies against ZIKV suggests the absence of previous viral exposure of NHPs from Foz do Iguaçu-PR.研究背景：寨卡病毒（Zika virus, ZIKV）于1947年首次从非洲乌干达森林的恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）体内分离获得。旧世界灵长类参与了该虫媒病毒的丛林维持循环，但学界对于新世界灵长类在寨卡病毒传播循环中所发挥的作用仍认知有限。 研究目的：本研究旨在调查巴西圣保罗州、帕拉伊巴州及巴拉那州三地新世界灵长类体内寨卡病毒的地方性循环情况。 研究方法：本研究采用逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase reaction, RT-qPCR）、间接酶联免疫吸附试验（indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA）以及空斑减少中和试验（plaque reduction neutralization test, PRNT），对2018年与2020年采集自圣保罗州索罗卡巴地区6个市镇、帕拉伊巴州若昂佩索阿市镇以及巴拉那州伊瓜苏港市镇的100份自由放养及圈养环境下的非人灵长类（non-human primate, NHP）样本进行检测。 研究结果：所有样本（n=141）的组织及血液寨卡病毒基因组检测均呈阴性。此外，伊瓜苏港非人灵长类的58份血清样本在血清学检测中全部呈阴性。 主要结论：未在新热带灵长类中发现寨卡病毒循环的分子与血清学证据。同时，未检测到寨卡病毒特异性抗体，提示来自巴拉那州伊瓜苏港的非人灵长类此前未接触过该病毒。