Publications by authors named "Alvaro Aguilar Setien"

Hepatitis E virus (HEV; family ) infections cause >40,000 human deaths annually. Zoonotic infections predominantly originate from ungulates and occasionally from rats, highlighting the zoonotic potential of rodent-associated hepeviruses. We conducted host genomic data mining and uncovered two genetically divergent rodent-associated hepeviruses, and two bat-associated hepeviruses genetically related to known bat-associated strains.

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Article Synopsis
  • The increasing population in Yucatan is driving construction in the Mayan jungle for tourism, housing, and agriculture, alongside a rise in rabies cases in cats.
  • A study was conducted to analyze rabies viruses in felines through genetic and antigenic characterization, using ArcGIS and R software for mapping case locations.
  • Nine rabies cases from 2003-2022 were identified, revealing three antigenic variants predominantly linked to urban areas, emphasizing the risk of reintroducing rabies in dogs if vaccination rates decline.
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Background: Arthropod-borne flaviviruses like dengue virus (DENV) and yellow fever virus (YFV) are major human pathogens. In Latin America, YFV is maintained in sylvatic cycles involving non-human primates (NHP) and forest-dwelling mosquitos. YFV supposedly does not circulate north of Panama.

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Bats are important natural reservoir hosts of a diverse range of viruses that can be transmitted to humans and have been suggested to play an important role in the Zika virus (ZIKV) transmission cycle. However, the exact role of these animals as reservoirs for flaviviruses is still controversial. To further expand our understanding of the role of bats in the ZIKV transmission cycle in Latin America, we carried out an experimental infection in wild-caught Artibeus lituratus bats and sampled several free-living neotropical bats across three countries of the region.

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Rodents and bats are the most diverse mammal group that host species. In the Americas, they were described as harboring species; however, they were mostly characterized to the genotypic level. We describe here isolates obtained from blood samples of one rodent ( from San José Pibtuch, Yucatan) and two bat species ( from Progreso, and from Chamela-Cuitzmala) from Mexico.

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Introduction: Field work with bats is an important contribution to many areas of research in environmental biology and ecology, as well as microbiology. Work with bats poses hazards such as bites and scratches, and the potential for exposure to infectious pathogens such as rabies virus. It also exposes researchers to many other potential hazards inherent to field work, such as environmental conditions, delayed emergency responses, or challenging work conditions.

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In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) recognized Mexico as a country free of human rabies transmitted by dogs. Nevertheless, the sylvatic cycle remains as a public health concern in the country. Although cougars () are not reservoirs of any rabies virus variant (RVV), these felines could act as vectors at the top of the food chain, and their relationships with other organisms must be considered important for the regulatory effect on their prey's populations.

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In pre-Hispanic Mexico, dogs were not identified as an important source of rabies. We know from codexes and chronicles of the conquerors that at that time, rabies cases in humans and domestic animals were caused by local wildlife species such as bats. Canine-rabies virus variant seems to have arrived with Europeans.

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In humans, co-infection of hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV) is common and aggravates disease outcome. Infection-mediated disease aggravation is poorly understood, partly due to lack of suitable animal models. Carnivores are understudied for hepatitis virus homologues.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Nearly all of the estimated 59,000 global human rabies deaths each year are caused by domestic dogs, necessitating control measures to combat this issue.
  • - Successful rabies control in wealthier countries involves strategies like dog population management, vaccination, and education about bite prevention, but applying these in poorer areas is difficult due to challenges like maintaining herd immunity among free-roaming dogs.
  • - The use of oral rabies vaccines has been effective for wildlife but hasn't been successfully implemented for controlling rabies in dogs; recommendations are provided to address concerns around the expedited use of these oral vaccines for better rabies management in canines.
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Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) can produce a fatal multisystem disease in carnivores and other mammals and is an important threat for wildlife conservation. However, integrative and comparative studies in wild carnivores are scarce and some areas of the world lack of genetic studies. We explore the dynamic of host-CDV in a procyonid community during an outbreak.

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Coatis () and raccoons () potentially play an important role in zoonotic diseases because they may carry pathogens and can transmit them to humans. To date, our understanding of the immune function of these two carnivores is deficient. The aim of this study was to compare the number of leucocyte subtypes and the phagocytic capacity between the coati and the raccoon.

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Introduction: The biological test established by the World Health Organization to isolate and amplify the rabies virus consists in inoculating lactating mice by intracranial route and detecting rabies signs for 21 days.

Objective: To verify viral transmission in mothers of rabies virus-inoculated lactating mice.

Method: Twenty-seven Mexican rabies virus isolates were inoculated by intracranial route in lactating mice, which were observed for 21 days.

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Animal microbiomes play an important role in dietary adaptation, yet the extent to which microbiome changes exhibit parallel evolution is unclear. Of particular interest is an adaptation to extreme diets, such as blood, which poses special challenges in its content of proteins and lack of essential nutrients. In this study, we assessed taxonomic signatures (by 16S rRNA amplicon profiling) and potential functional signatures (inferred by Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt)) of haematophagy in birds and bats.

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Bats can host pathogenic organisms such as viruses and fungi, but little is known about the pathogenicity of their parasites. Hemoparasites are frequently recorded in Neotropical bats, particularly (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae), but their pathogenic effect on bats is scarcely known. In this work, microfilariae were identified in four (8%) out of 51 sampled frugivorous bats belonging to three different species: , , and , which are located in Yautepec, Morelos, Mexico.

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Bartonella spp. have been identified in many bat species worldwide, including the zoonotic species, Candidatus Bartonella mayotimonensis. The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) preys preferentially on livestock in Latin America and is frequently infected with Bartonella spp.

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Bartonellae are emerging blood-borne bacteria that have been recovered from a wide range of mammalian species and arthropod vectors around the world. Bats are now recognized as a potential wildlife reservoir for a diverse number of Bartonella species, including the zoonotic Candidatus B. mayotimonensis.

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Blood-feeding arthropods play a major role in the transmission of several flaviviruses, which represent an important problem for human health. Currently, dengue is one of the most important arboviral emerging diseases worldwide. Furthermore, some previous studies have reported the presence of viral nucleic acids and antibodies against dengue virus (DENV) in wild animals.

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Social systems are major drivers of population structure and gene flow, with important effects on dynamics and dispersal of associated populations of parasites. Among bats, the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) has likely one of the most complex social structures. Using autosomal and mitochondrial markers on vampires from Mexico, French Guiana, and North Brazil, from both roosting and foraging areas, we observed an isolation by distance at the wider scale and lower but significant differentiation between closer populations (<50 km).

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Rabies DNA vaccines based on full-length glycoprotein (G) induce virus neutralizing antibody (VNA) responses and protect against the virus challenge. Although conformational epitopes of G are the main target of VNAs, some studies have shown that a polypeptide linear epitope G5 is also able to induce VNAs. However, a G5 DNA vaccine has not been explored.

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A redescription, with a discussion of new features and illustrations, for all life stages is presented for the parasitic mite Periglischrus herrerai Machado-Allison associated with the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus (Geoffoy), including a description of the heteromorphic female and the first description of its female deutonymph. In addition, the morphological variation of P. herrerai is evaluated by morphometric analysis of the adults, concluding that there is an evident geographic variation throughout the neotropics.

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Ecological, immunological, and epidemiological factors enable bats to transmit an increasingly recognized spectrum of zoonotic agents, and bartonellae are among those emerging pathogens identified in bats and their arthropod ectoparasites. Current data reveal a multifaceted disease ecology where diverse host species distributed around the world interact with a number of Bartonella spp. and several potential vectors.

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Recently, the presence of antibodies and dengue virus (DV) RNA in neotropical wild mammals, including Desmodus rotundus, was reported. In a previous study, DV was also found in a high percentage (39.6%) of ectoparasitic hematophagous dipters specifics of these hematophagous bats.

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Although emerging nonviral pathogens remain relatively understudied in bat populations, there is an increasing focus on identifying bat-associated bartonellae around the world. Many novel strains have been described from both bats and their arthropod ectoparasites, including , a zoonotic agent of human endocarditis. This cross-sectional study was designed to describe novel strains isolated from bats sampled in Mexico and evaluate factors potentially associated with infection.

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Experimental infection of Artibeus intermedius, the great fruit-eating bat, was performed with vampire bat rabies isolates. Bats (n=35) were captured in the wild and quarantined prior to experimental infection. No rabies antibodies were detected by rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) prior to infection.

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