Isolamento do vírus rábico no morcego Carollia perspicillata em Niquelândia, Goiás

Abstract

Rabies is an infectious disease responsible for great economical losses and a serious case of public health. Nonhematophagous bats have important roles in the transmission of the rabies, although their participation has received low attention due to the low economical and medical-sanitary impact caused by them. This study presents the isolation of the rabies virus in the short-tailed fruit bat Carollia perspicillata in Niquelândia, Goiás state, Brazil. The laboratorial diagnosis was accomplished by direct immunofluorescense and intra-cerebral inoculation in mice. The bat was captured in a bat survey in the region and did not present symptomatic characteristics for the disease. The report points for the need of a program of animal sanity that prioritizes the prevention and for attention in the handling of bats for lay and professionals.