Viruses, Vol. 12, Pages 178: The Serological Prevalence of Rabies Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies in the Bat Population on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad

Viruses, Vol. 12, Pages 178: The Serological Prevalence of Rabies Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies in the Bat Population on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad Viruses doi: 10.3390/v12020178 Authors: Seetahal Greenberg Satheshkumar Sanchez-Vazquez Legall Singh Ramkissoon Schountz Munster Oura Carrington : Rabies virus (RABV) is the only lyssavirus known to be present within the Caribbean. The island of Trinidad, is richly diverse in chiropteran fauna and endemic for bat-transmitted rabies with low RABV isolation rates observed in this population. We aimed to determine the seroprevalence of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) in light of spatio-temporal and bat demographic factors to infer the extent of natural exposure to RABV in the Trinidadian bat population. RVNA titers were determined by the RABV micro-neutralization test on 383 bat samples representing 21 species, comprising 30.9% of local bat diversity, from 31 locations across the island over 5 years. RVNA was positively detected in 33 samples (8.6%) representing 6 bat species (mainly frugivorous) with titers ranging from 0.1 to 19 IU/mL (mean 1.66 IU/mL). The analyses based on a multivariable binomial generalised linear mixed-effects model showed that bat age and year of capture were significant predictors of seropositivity. Thus, juvenile bats were more likely to be seropositive when compared to adults (estimate 1.13; p = 0.04) which may suggest early exposure to the RABV with...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research