Introduction: In the State of Ceará, a new variant of the rabies virus was identified associated with cases of human rabies transmitted by common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), which are frequently kept as pets. This new variant does not present antigenic proximity or genetic relationship to variants of the virus isolated from bats and terrestrial mammals from the American continent. The present study aimed to evaluate the risk factors of rabies virus transmission from common marmosets (C. jacchus) maintained as pets in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil, to human beings.
Methods: A questionnaire focusing on animal management and interaction between humans and primates was applied to individuals who had marmosets in the municipalities of Aquiraz and Maranguape. In order to evaluate the presence of rabies antigens by direct immunofluorescence test (DIF), samples of saliva were collected from domiciliary captive marmosets. Based on the detection of rabies antigens, biopsy samples of central nervous system (CNS) were analyzed.
Results: Analysis of questionnaire data verified that a close relation exists between humans and their pet marmosets, especially during management practices. Additionally, these people showed minimal knowledge regarding rabies, which represents a greater risk of infection. Of the 29 saliva samples evaluated, one (3.4%) was positive for DIF reaction and of the 11 CNS samples, three (27.3%) were positive.
Conclusions: Laboratory data are in agreement with the questionnaire findings, which confirm an increased risk of rabies virus transmission due to the close relation between humans and marmosets.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0037-86822011005000031 | DOI Listing |
J Control Release
December 2024
Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Center of Molecular Diagnostic and Therapy, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute of Life Sciences (NAILS), School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China; The Second People's Hospital of Changzhou, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213003, China. Electronic address:
Rationale: Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene play an important role in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis, and downregulation of LRRK2 has become a promising therapy for PD. Here, we developed a synthetic biology strategy for the self-assembly and delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) of LRRK2 into the substantia nigra via small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) using a genetic circuit (in the form of naked DNA plasmid) to attenuate PD-like phenotypes in mouse model.
Methods: We generated the genetic circuit encoding both a neuron-targeting rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) tag and a LRRK2 siRNA under the control of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter, and assessed its therapeutic effects using LRRK2 mouse models of PD.
Neuron
December 2024
Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA. Electronic address:
Motor output results from the coordinated activity of neural circuits distributed across multiple brain regions that convey information to the spinal cord via descending motor pathways. Yet the organizational logic through which supraspinal systems target discrete components of spinal motor circuits remains unclear. Here, using viral transsynaptic tracing along with serial two-photon tomography, we have generated a whole-brain map of monosynaptic inputs to spinal V1 interneurons, a major inhibitory population involved in motor control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Sci Tech
December 2024
Since its creation in 1924, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has led animal rabies control efforts and is responsible for several of the most impactful advances in rabies diagnostics, surveillance and animal vaccination of the 20th and 21st centuries. Primarily advancing rabies control through its formalised country partnerships, WOAH is responsible for the validation and recognition of official rabies tests and has developed the largest rabies vaccine bank in use in Africa and Asia. WOAH has also fostered technical collaborations and provided modern-day guidance through the creation of the WOAH Rabies Reference Laboratory Network, also known as RABLAB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSingle cell genomics has revolutionized our understanding of neuronal cell types. However, scalable technologies for probing single-cell connectivity are lacking, and we are just beginning to understand how molecularly defined cell types are organized into functional circuits. Here, we describe a protocol to generate high-complexity barcoded rabies virus (RV) for scalable circuit mapping from tens of thousands of individual starter cells in parallel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcography
October 2024
Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Bat-borne pathogens are a threat to global health and in recent history have had major impacts on human morbidity and mortality. Examples include diseases such as rabies, Nipah virus encephalitis, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Climate change may exacerbate the emergence of bat-borne pathogens by affecting the ecology of bats in tropical ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!