Prevalence of Flavivirus and Alphavirus in bats captured in the state of Yucatan, southeastern Mexico
Aaron Yeh-Gorocica,
Marco Torres-Castro,
Claudia Carrillo-Chan,
Alejandro Suarez-Galaz,
Melissa Suarez-Galaz,
Wilson Moguel-Chin,
Alonso Panti-May,
Cesar Lugo-Caballero,
Henry Puerta-Guardo,
Juan Chable-Santos,
Pablo Manrique-Saide,
Guadalupe Ayora-Talavera,
Celia Selem-Salas,
Mario Frias-Casas,
Antonio Rivero-Juarez
Affiliations
Aaron Yeh-Gorocica
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Marco Torres-Castro
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Claudia Carrillo-Chan
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Alejandro Suarez-Galaz
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Melissa Suarez-Galaz
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Wilson Moguel-Chin
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Alonso Panti-May
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Cesar Lugo-Caballero
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Henry Puerta-Guardo
Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico; Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biologicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Juan Chable-Santos
Departamento de Zoologia, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biologicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Pablo Manrique-Saide
Departamento de Zoologia, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biologicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico; Unidad Colaborativa para Bioensayos Entomologicos, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biologicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Guadalupe Ayora-Talavera
Laboratorio de Virologia, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Celia Selem-Salas
Departamento de Zoologia, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biologicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico
Mario Frias-Casas
Virologia Clinica y Zoonosis, Instituto Maimonides de Investigacion Biomedica de Cordoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia de Cordoba, Universidad de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain; CIBERINFEC, ISCIII – CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Antonio Rivero-Juarez
Virologia Clinica y Zoonosis, Instituto Maimonides de Investigacion Biomedica de Cordoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofia de Cordoba, Universidad de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain; CIBERINFEC, ISCIII – CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; *Corresponding author at: Virologia Clinica y Zoonosis, Instituto Maimonides de Investigacion Biomedica de Cordoba (IMIBIC), Avenida Menedez Pidal, s/n, 14004 Cordoba, Spain.
Summary: Flavivirus (family Flaviviridae) and Alphavirus (family Togaviridae) are mosquito-borne viruses that poses a significant risk to public health worldwide. Examples of these viruses include Dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Flavivirus genus, and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in the Alphavirus genus. The potential contribution of bats in the mosquito-to-human transmission cycle of these viral genera in the tropics has not been studied. Here, a total of 144 bats belonging to three families (Emballonuridae, Phyllostomidae, and Molossidae) and six species were captured for one year using mist nets in sites with different landscapes (forest and grassland) in the state of Yucatan, southeastern Mexico. Blood samples and rectal and oral swabs were collected to detect Flavivirus and Alphavirus RNA genomes through RT-PCR. Flavivirus RNA was detected in 53 individuals (36.8%; 95% CI: 29.4%–44.9%), and Alphavirus RNA was detected in 59 individuals (40.1%; 95% CI: 33.2%–49.2%). The sequences obtained were consistent with ZIKV and DENV, into the Flavivirus, and CHIKV into the Alphavirus positive samples. The prevalence of both Flavivirus and Alphavirus was higher during the dry season compared with the rainy season. This high positivity rate, highlighted in both Flavivirus and Alphavirus, suggests a potential contribution of bats in the circulation of these viral genera in sylvatic environments. Seasonal variation in viral genera prevalence, with higher prevalence during dry seasons than rainy seasons, may suggest specific viral activity patterns in response to climatic conditions.
