Neutralizing antibodies for orthobunyaviruses in Pantanal, Brazil

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Nov 1;11(11):e0006014. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006014. eCollection 2017 Nov.

Abstract

The Pantanal is a hotspot for arbovirus studies in South America. Various medically important flaviviruses and alphaviruses have been reported in domestic and wild animals in the region. To expand the knowledge of local arbovirus circulation, a serosurvey for 14 Brazilian orthobunyaviruses was conducted with equines, sheep and free-ranging caimans. Sera were tested for specific viral antibodies using plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Monotypic reactions were detected for Maguari, Xingu, Apeu, Guaroa, Murutucu, Oriboca, Oropouche and Nepuyo viruses. Despite the low titers for most of the orthobunyaviruses tested, the detection of monotypic reactions for eight orthobunyaviruses suggests the Pantanal as a region of great orthobunyavirus diversity. The present data, in conjunction with previous studies that detected a high diversity of other arboviruses, ratify the Pantanal as an important natural reservoir for sylvatic and medically important arboviruses in Brazil.

MeSH terms

  • Alligators and Crocodiles* / virology
  • Animals
  • Animals, Domestic / virology
  • Animals, Wild / virology
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / blood*
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Bunyaviridae Infections / epidemiology
  • Bunyaviridae Infections / immunology
  • Bunyaviridae Infections / veterinary*
  • Bunyaviridae Infections / virology
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Horse Diseases / immunology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses / virology
  • Orthobunyavirus / immunology*
  • Orthobunyavirus / isolation & purification
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Sheep / virology
  • Sheep Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Sheep Diseases / immunology
  • Sheep Diseases / virology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral

Grants and funding

APC was supported by Ciência sem fronteiras program of the Brazilian Goverment. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.