Identification of Leptospira and Bartonella among rodents collected across a habitat disturbance gradient along the Inter-Oceanic Highway in the southern Amazon Basin of Peru.

Background: The southern Amazon Basin in the Madre de Dios region of Peru has undergone rapid deforestation and habitat disruption, leading to an unknown zoonotic risk to the growing communities in the area.

Methodology/principal Findings: We surveyed the prevalence of rodent-borne Leptospira and Bartonella, as well as potential environmental sources of human exposure to Leptospira, in 4 communities along the Inter-Oceanic Highway in Madre de Dios. During the rainy and dry seasons of 2014-2015, we captured a total of 97 rodents representing 8 genera in areas that had experienced different degrees of habitat disturbance.

First Report of Infection in Salivary Gland of Bats from the Peruvian Amazon.

In the Americas, 8 million people are infected with Chagas disease, and an additional 90 million people are at risk for infection. Little is known about the role bats play in the sylvatic transmission cycle of , the parasite causing Chagas disease. Here, we captured bats in the villages of Palmiche, Pachacutec, Nuevo San Martin, and Mayuriaga located in the Datem del Marañon Province in Loreto, Peru.

Andes hantavirus variant in rodents, southern Amazon Basin, Peru.

We investigated hantaviruses in rodents in the southern Amazon Basin of Peru and identified an Andes virus variant from Neacomys spinosus mice. This finding extends the known range of this virus in South America and the range of recognized hantaviruses in Peru. Further studies of the epizoology of hantaviruses in this region are warranted.

Human rabies and rabies in vampire and nonvampire bat species, Southeastern Peru, 2007.

After a human rabies outbreak in southeastern Peru, we collected bats to estimate the prevalence of rabies in various species. Among 165 bats from 6 genera and 10 species, 10.3% were antibody positive; antibody prevalence was similar in vampire and nonvampire bats.