Towards Development of an Anti-Vampire Bat Vaccine for Rabies Management: Inoculation of Vampire Bat Saliva Induces Immune-Mediated Resistance.

The common vampire bat () is a hematophagous species responsible for paralytic rabies and bite damage that affects livestock, humans and wildlife from Mexico to Argentina. Current measures to control vampires, based upon coumarin-derived poisons, are not used extensively due in part to the high cost of application, risks for bats that share roosts with vampires and residual environmental contamination. Observations that vampire bat bites may induce resistance in livestock against vampire bat salivary anticoagulants encourage research into novel vaccine-based alternatives particularly focused upon increasing livestock resistance to vampire salivary components.

Reproductive seasonality, sex ratio and philopatry in Argentina's common vampire bats.

Common vampire bats () are a key rabies vector in South America. Improved management of this species requires long-term, region-specific information. To investigate patterns of demography and dispersal, we analysed 13 642 captures of common vampire bats in Northern Argentina from the period 1969-2004.

Observations of sylvatic rabies in Northern Argentina during outbreaks of paralytic cattle rabies transmitted by vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus).

During rabies outbreaks in cattle (paralytic rabies) in Argentina associated with the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus, rabies was observed in marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), red brocket deer (Mazama americana), capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), savanna fox (Cerdocyon thous), and great fruit-eating bat (Artibeus lituratus). Rabies could constitute a threat to the survival of marsh deer in places where they live in small groups, and infection of both great fruit-eating bats and savanna fox represent a risk for humans; both species exhibit aggressiveness and fury when infected.

Virus isolation from saliva and salivary glands of cattle naturally infected with paralytic rabies.

The infectivity of saliva, salivary and mammary glands, muscle, lung, kidney and liver of 87 cattle infected with paralytic rabies (positive viral isolation from brains) was studied. Fifty percent dilutions of saliva and tissue samples were inoculated intracerebrally into 10- to 15-day-old mice. Viral isolation in mice was confirmed by direct rabies fluorescent-antibody test and the antigenic variant of the isolates characterized by monoclonal antibodies.

Monoclonal antibody characterization of rabies virus strains isolated in the River Plate Basin.

In this study, 91 strains isolated in the River Plate Basin, South America, were examined from the epidemiological standpoint and with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the nucleocapsid of rabies virus. Such strains reacted to MAbs in accordance with nine different patterns (antigenic variants). Rabies virus was isolated from 49 cattle, 21 dogs, 11 non-haematophagous bats, four vampire bats, two foxes, two horses, one buffalo, and one human.