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No Evidence of Rabies Exposure in Wild Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) of Northeast Brazil

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Abstract

Rabies transmitted by wildlife is the main source of human rabies mortality in Latin America and considered an emerging disease. The common marmoset Callithrix jacchus of Brazil is the only known primate reservoir of rabies worldwide. We tested whether alive free-ranging C. jacchus were exposed to rabies in four northeast states that have previously reported rabies-positive dead C. jacchus (Pernambuco and Bahia) or not (Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte). Our results show no evidence of rabies antibodies or infection in the sampled C. jacchus, suggesting that apparently healthy marmosets are not widely exposed to rabies over their natural range.

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Figure 1

Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the staff from the state’s health secretaries that participated in the study, environmental authorities (e.g., IBAMA), and all personnel from parks and universities that contributed to this project with their relentless effort to locate marmoset groups, provide logistical support, and great interactions in the field. We thank veterinarian Caio Shivuya Pessoa for his help with marmoset capturing in Paraíba. A very special thanks to all community members that helped us locating and capturing marmosets, usually within their property. This project was directed and is dedicated to the beloved memory of Ivanete Kotait, whose perseverance and tenacity made this project happen. IK, JAB, JM, and MLC were funded by the project ‘Fatores ecológicos e antropogenicos associados à transmissão da raiva em primatas’ from the Pan American Health Organization (SCON2018-00287) and the Ministry of Health of Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, UMR IRD-CNRS-UM MIVEGEC, Centre Montpellier. 911, Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Julio A. Benavides

  2. Centro de Investigación para la Sustentabilidad y Doctorado en Medicina de la Conservación, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andrés Bello, República 440, Santiago, Chile

    Julio A. Benavides

  3. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Higiene Veterinária e Saúde Pública, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Jane Megid & Ramiro Monã da Silva

  4. Pasteur Institute, Av. Paulista 393, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01311-000, Brazil

    Juliana Galera Castilho & Carla I. Macedo

  5. Centro de Desenvolvimento e Inovação, Instituto Butantan, Laboratório Piloto de Vacinas Virais, São Paulo, Brazil

    Regina Maria Mourão Fuches, Neuza Maria Frazatti Gallina, Rodrigo Rizzo, Fabio Antonio Sena & Maria Luiza Carrieri

  6. Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, BR 415, Itabuna, BA, Brazil

    Vanner Boere & Ita de Oliveira e Silva

  7. Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis, UniRitter, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Bruna Zalafon-Silva

  8. Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    José Flávio Vidal Coutinho

  9. Setor de Psicobiologia, Departamento de Fisiología, Universidade Federal do Río Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    Maria de Fatima Arruda

  10. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Primatas Brasileiro, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, João Pessoa, Brazil

    Mônica Mafra Valença-Montenegro

  11. Independent Researcher, João Pessoa, Brazil

    Jefferson Farias Cordeiro

  12. Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil

    Silvana Leal

  13. Secretaria de Estado da Saúde Pública do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

    Cintia de Sousa Higashi, Fabíola de Souza Medeiros & Alene Uchoa de Castro

  14. Parque Zoobotânico Arruda Câmara – Bica, João Pessoa, Brazil

    Paola de Cassia Gonçalves

  15. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde (SVS), Ministério da Saúde, Brasilia, Brazil

    Silene Manrique Rocha, Marcelo Wada & Alexander Vargas

  16. Instituto Biológico, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ivanete Kotait

Authors
  1. Julio A. Benavides
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  2. Jane Megid
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  3. Juliana Galera Castilho
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  4. Carla I. Macedo
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  5. Regina Maria Mourão Fuches
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  6. Neuza Maria Frazatti Gallina
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  7. Vanner Boere
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  8. Bruna Zalafon-Silva
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  9. Ramiro Monã da Silva
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  10. José Flávio Vidal Coutinho
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  11. Maria de Fatima Arruda
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  12. Ita de Oliveira e Silva
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  13. Mônica Mafra Valença-Montenegro
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  14. Jefferson Farias Cordeiro
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  15. Silvana Leal
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  16. Cintia de Sousa Higashi
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  17. Fabíola de Souza Medeiros
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  18. Alene Uchoa de Castro
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  19. Rodrigo Rizzo
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  20. Fabio Antonio Sena
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  21. Paola de Cassia Gonçalves
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  22. Silene Manrique Rocha
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  23. Marcelo Wada
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  24. Alexander Vargas
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  25. Maria Luiza Carrieri
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  26. Ivanete Kotait
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julio A. Benavides.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee for the use of Animals (CEUA) from the Research of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootecnia of Botucatu at the São Paulo State University (UNESP) (protocol number: 0258/2018) and by the Sistema de Autorização e Informação em Biodiversidade (SISBIO) at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) (Protocol number: 66995).

Additional information

Deceased: Ivanete Kotait.

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Benavides, J.A., Megid, J., Castilho, J.G. et al. No Evidence of Rabies Exposure in Wild Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) of Northeast Brazil. EcoHealth 20, 355–361 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01663-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01663-6

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