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Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus).

ABSTRACT: Rabies virus (RABV) transmitted by the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) poses a threat to agricultural development and public health throughout the Neotropics. The ecology and evolution of rabies host-pathogen dynamics are influenced by two infection-induced behavioural changes. RABV-infected hosts often exhibit increased aggression which facilitates transmission, and rabies also leads to reduced activity and paralysis prior to death. Although several studies document rabies-induced behavioural changes in rodents and other dead-end hosts, surprisingly few studies have measured these changes in vampire bats, the key natural reservoir throughout Latin America. Taking advantage of an experiment designed to test an oral rabies vaccine in captive male vampire bats, we quantify for the first time, to our knowledge, how rabies affects allogrooming and aggressive behaviours in this species. Compared to non-rabid vampire bats, rabid individuals reduced their allogrooming prior to death, but we did not detect increases in aggression among bats. To put our results in context, we review what is known and what remains unclear about behavioural changes of rabid vampire bats (resumen en español, electronic supplementary material, S1).

SUBMITTER: Cardenas-Canales EM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9449815 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (<i>Desmodus rotundus</i>).

Cárdenas-Canales Elsa M EM Stockmaier Sebastian S Cronin Eleanor E Rocke Tonie E TE Osorio Jorge E JE Carter Gerald G GG

Biology letters 20220907 9

Rabies virus (RABV) transmitted by the common vampire bat (<i>Desmodus rotundus</i>) poses a threat to agricultural development and public health throughout the Neotropics. The ecology and evolution of rabies host-pathogen dynamics are influenced by two infection-induced behavioural changes. RABV-infected hosts often exhibit increased aggression which facilitates transmission, and rabies also leads to reduced activity and paralysis prior to death. Although several studies document rabies-induced ...[more]

PMID: 36069068

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Project description:Vampire bat transmitted rabies (VBR) is a continuing burden to public health and agricultural sectors in Latin America, despite decades-long efforts to control the disease by culling bat populations. Culling has been shown to disperse bats, leading to an increased spread of rabies. Thus, non-lethal strategies to control VBR, such as vaccination, are desired. Here, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of a viral-vectored recombinant mosaic glycoprotein rabies vaccine candidate (RCN-MoG) in vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) of unknown history of rabies exposure captured in México and transported to the United States. Vaccination with RCN-MoG was demonstrated to be safe, even in pregnant females, as no evidence of lesions or adverse effects were observed. We detected rabies neutralizing antibodies in 28% (8/29) of seronegative bats post-vaccination. Survival proportions of adult bats after rabies virus (RABV) challenge ranged from 55-100% and were not significantly different among treatments, pre- or post-vaccination serostatus, and route of vaccination, while eight pups (1-2.5 months of age) used as naïve controls all succumbed to challenge (P<0.0001). Importantly, we found that vaccination with RCN-MoG appeared to block viral shedding, even when infection proved lethal. Using real-time PCR, we did not detect RABV nucleic acid in the saliva samples of 9/10 vaccinated bats that succumbed to rabies after challenge (one was inconclusive). In contrast, RABV nucleic acid was detected in saliva samples from 71% of unvaccinated bats (10/14 sampled, plus one inconclusive) that died of the disease, including pups. Low seroconversion rates post-vaccination and high survival of non-vaccinated bats, perhaps due to earlier natural exposure, limited our conclusions regarding vaccine efficacy. However, our findings suggest a potential transmission-blocking effect of vaccination with RCN-MoG that could provide a promising strategy for controlling VBR in Latin America beyond longstanding culling programs.

Project description:BackgroundIn Latin America, there is a high incidence of vampire bat-transmitted rabies in cattle causing increased mortality of livestock, which heavily impacts the agricultural sector. Anticoagulants-based control methods for the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) have been employed continuously since the 1970s with various methods of application, presentations, doses and active ingredients. Studies from half a century ago still serve as a reference for the current use of anticoagulants for bat-borne rabies control in Latin America. The objective of this study was to structurally and bibliometrically review literature on the use of anticoagulants for the control of D. rotundus as a means of rabies control.Materials & methodsScientific literature on the use of anticoagulant products for D. rotundus control was obtained, reviewed and analysed. Articles were retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Research articles from 1971 to 2021 in Spanish, English and Portuguese were included in the review. Results were visualised using RStudio, Bibliometrix and VOSviewer.ResultsThe body of literature indicates effectiveness of up to 100% in the use of anticoagulants to induce bat mortality. The effectiveness of anticoagulants for rabies control, however, remains uncertain. No evidence was found to support or refute the use of anticoagulants for rabies control.DiscussionInstead, literature suggests that disturbing bat colonies increases rabies prevalence. This finding suggests that anticoagulants may have the opposite intended effect on rabies control and highlights the importance of further research on the practical methods for bat-borne rabies prevention.ConclusionField experimental studies that include control groups over areas and periods that account for D. rotundus ecology are needed to determine the effectiveness of anticoagulants for rabies control in livestock. In conclusion, the use of anticoagulants for rabies control is questionable.

Dataset Information

Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus).

Publications

Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (<i>Desmodus rotundus</i>).

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