A IMPORTÂNCIA DOS MORCEGOS URBANOS NA EPIDEMIOLOGIA DA RAIVA

Abstract

In Brazil, 167 species of bats are registered, 70% of which have insectivorous feeding habits. Urbanization directly affects bat communities in various regions of the world, as a result, cities become favorable places due to the ease of shelter and food found by bats. As it is currently known that the air cycle is the biggest problem when it comes to the transmission of the rabies virus (VRA), this proximity between different species of bats with humans and pets entails a greater risk of rabies occurrence. Rabies is a zoonosis, with a fatality rate close to 100%. It is caused by a virus of the Lyssavirus genus, being transmitted through the saliva of an infected mammal. This study analyzed data from the Zoonoses Control Center (CCZ) in the municipality of Varginha, MG, on the collection of animals and sending them to the laboratory for testing for the rabies virus, as well as data on the rabies vaccination campaign council of dogs and cats. The results showed that, from a total of 488 captured mammals, all that obtained positive results were insectivorous bats, representing 1.85% of the total captured bats. Therefore, the objective of the work was to show the relevance of bats, mainly non-haematophagous ones, in the epidemiology of urban rabies and to discuss the importance of the role of municipal zoonoses centers, not only in rabies immunization activities, but also in capturing and carrying out of examinations in bats and blocking actions, in case of positive result for rabies virus in these animals.