Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis to Prevent Hematophagous Bat-Mediated Rabies Outbreaks in Remote Amazon Communities: Lessons from a Pilot for Public Health Policy.

ABSTRACT: In 2018, an outbreak of human rabies caused by the hematophagous bat Desmodus rotundus hit the Brazilian Amazon Basin community of Melgaço, Brazil, resulting in the death of 10 people, 9 of them children. The incidence of rabies has been on the rise among populations in conditions of vulnerability in this ecosystem due to human expansion into sylvatic environments and limited access to public health services. To address this issue, in September 2019, a collaborative effort from national, local, and international institutions promoted and executed a pilot for pre-exposure prophylaxis of a population in high-risk areas for hematophagous bat-mediated rabies. This measure is usually only implemented in response to outbreaks. The pilot was conducted in Portel, in a nearby location to the

SUBMITTER: Rocha F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11359154 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature