Biology subjects

de Arruda Xavier, D.

Publications and source records attributed to de Arruda Xavier, D..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2019

Crab fisherman communities in north Brazil: a new high risk population for vampire bat rabies

An outbreak of human rabies transmitted by hematophagous bats occurred in 2018 in the state of Para, Brazil, eastern Amazon, after 14 years with no record of the disease. It is necessary to understand the epidemiological characteristics of these attacks to protect the local population. This study aimed to characterize attacks of humans by vampire bats in the municipality of Sao Joao da Ponta, Para state, Brazil, from 2013 to 2015. All individuals attacked by bats who sought medical care during the study period (n=5) were identified in the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) database and answered a questionnaire about the circumstances of the attack. Using snowball sampling, seed cases identified other individuals who were attacked in the same period but did not seek medical care (n=61), totalizing 66 people attacked in the same period. The interviewees were male (92.4%), adults between 20 and 50 years old (69.6%) and had completed elementary education (86.3%). Most were rural residents (92.4%) and crab fishermen (79.3%). The interviewees (92.4%) identified the mangrove of the Mae Grande de Curuca extractive reserve as an area conducive to attacks by vampire bats, where groups of fishermen sometimes concentrate for days for crab fishing, often living in improvised dwellings without walls and covered by tarps or straw (88.8%). The wounds were single bites (71.2%) and were located on the lower limbs (93.9%). Overall, 42.4% of participants had been bitten more than four times throughout their life (range 1-23 attacks). Participants were unaware of the risk of contracting rabies by the bite (95.4%). Using Sao Joao da Ponta as a model, this study shows that bat attacks are an essentially occupational problem in the study region. Indeed, for each reported attack, there are 12.2 unreported cases. It is necessary to develop strategies to reach this population for prophylactic treatment.\n\nAuthor SummaryDifferent from which occurs worldwide in relation to rabies transmission, in Amazon region, vampire bat is involved on direct transmission of rabies virus to humans when searching for bloodmeal. It is common in the state of Para, Eastern Amazon, large areas inhabited near forests and mangroves. People living there use forest natural resources as a way of income and sustenance and these working conditions is what our study points out as an important factor for aggressions predisposition. Here this subject is shown as an occupational problem. This study also quantified for the first time underreported humans aggressions by bats in Amazon, using the snowball sampling, which valued the relationship between individuals to reach the target population. Based on these results, rabies surveillance may direct actions for prevention and health education for these individuals, including changes in notifications forms and suggesting pre-exposure prophylaxis in vaccination calendar of the Brazilian Ministry of Health for these individuals exposed to the rabies virus.

epidemiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Spatiotemporal analysis of human rabies exposure in Colombia during ten years: A challenge for implementing social inclusion in its surveillance and prevention

Based on reported cases of human rabies exposure to Colombia public health surveillance system between 2007 and 2016 we conducted a spatiotemporal analysis to identify epidemiological scenarios of human rabies exposure by dog, cat, bat or farm animal (n= 666,411 cases). Spatiotemporal analysis, incidence rate, cluster and outlier analysis were conducted for all Colombian cities (n= 1122). The incidence rate of human rabies exposure by dogs and cats showed an increasing trend while aggression by bats and farm animals fluctuated throughout the analyzed period. Human rabies transmitted by cat and bat occurred in Andean and Orinoquia region, where the larger scenario was observed. There, urban scenario showed high risk to human rabies exposure by cat and dog in cities characterized for having the highest human population density and greater economic development. In contrary, rural area where was observed high risk of human rabies exposure by farm animals in workers from agroforestry area (42.7%). exposed to rabies by contact of mucosa or injured skin with saliva infected with rabies virus (74.5%) composed rural scenario. In Inequality scenario, exposure by farm animals showed some outlier cities with high risk principally in Pacific region, where was observed the lowest incidence rates to human rabies exposure in all years studied and the highest poverty rates in Colombia. There, afro-descendant (55%) and indigenous (8.2%) people were mostly affected. High risk of exposure by bat bite was observed in indigenous (98.5%) located in cities of Amazon region with dispersed population (Amazonian scenario). Analysis presented here can encourage surveillance, care and prevention programs to focus both on ethnic, dispersed populations and areas with rabies viral circulation, since each scenario requires different approach strategies. Author SummaryWorldwide, rabies is transmitted by saliva contact contaminated with the rabies virus through a bite, scratching or licking of bat, dog, cat and other mammals. If disease is not treated in time is going to cause death. In Colombia, 14 deaths have been reported due to Classical Rabies Virus (RABV) in the last 10 years, but no spatial analysis has been carried out to determine different geographical risk factors. In this study, we analyzed people who were exposed to RAVB or died between 2007 and 2016, showing a relationship between age group, sex, occupation, ethnicity and illness. Considering these variables were possible to identify four different epidemiological scenarios where high migratory effect of the population takes the animals to areas with high population densities and also detect municipalities with very poor and vulnerable populations, located far from the health centers increasing the risk to die by rabies virus. Another contribution is the location of human rabies exposure in distinctly agricultural or indigenous areas, where exposure is clearly high and worrying.

epidemiology↗