Pathogens (Oct 2022)

Serological Evidence of <i>Orthopoxvirus</i> Infection in Neotropical Primates in Brazil

  • Filipe Vieira Santos de Abreu,
  • Kamila Lorene Soares Rocha,
  • Ramon Silva-Oliveira,
  • Mariana Viana Macedo,
  • Thamires Gabriele Macedo Silva,
  • Maria Eduarda Gonçalves-dos-Santos,
  • Cirilo Henrique de Oliveira,
  • Sandy Micaele Aquino-Teixeira,
  • Vinícius de Oliveira Ottone,
  • Alex Junio Jardim da Silva,
  • Ronaldo Medeiros dos Santos,
  • Aline Tátila-Ferreira,
  • Marco Antônio Barreto de Almeida,
  • Edmilson dos Santos,
  • Jáder da Cruz Cardoso,
  • Aline Alves Scarpellini Campos,
  • George Rego Albuquerque,
  • Anaiá da Paixão Sevá,
  • Bergmann Morais Ribeiro,
  • Danilo Simonini Teixeira,
  • Fabrício Souza Campos,
  • Ana Cláudia Franco,
  • Paulo Michel Roehe,
  • Giliane de Souza Trindade,
  • Danilo Bretas de Oliveira

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101167
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 10
p. 1167

Abstract

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The genus Orthopoxvirus (OPXV) of the family Poxviridae comprises several viruses that are capable of infecting a wide range of hosts. One of the most widespread OPXVs is the Vaccinia virus (VACV), which circulates in zoonotic cycles in South America, especially in Brazil, infecting domestic and wild animals and humans and causing economic losses as well as impacting public health. Despite this, little is known about the presence and/or exposure of neotropical primates to orthopoxviruses in the country. In this study, we report the results of a search for evidence of OPVX infections in neotropical free-living primates in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. The sera or liver tissues of 63 neotropical primates were examined through plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT) and real-time PCR. OPXV-specific neutralizing antibodies were detected in two sera (4.5%) from Callithrix penicillata, showing 55% and 85% reduction in plaque counts, evidencing their previous exposure to the virus. Both individuals were collected in urban areas. All real-time PCR assays were negative. This is the first time that evidence of OPXV exposure has been detected in C. penicillata, a species that usually lives at the interface between cities and forests, increasing risks of zoonotic transmissions through spillover/spillback events. In this way, studies on the circulation of OPXV in neotropical free-living primates are necessary, especially now, with the monkeypox virus being detected in new regions of the planet.

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