Temporal and spatial distribution of animal rabies cases in the state of Rio Grande do Norte

Abstract

Rabies is an ancient and lethal mammalian zoonotic disease caused by a neurotropic RNA virus of the order Mononegavirales, family Rhabdoviridae, and genus Lyssavirus, known as Rabies virus, which has a major impact on public health. In Brazil, rabies is considered an endemic disease with a heterogeneous distribution among regions. This study aimed to assess the temporal and spatial distributions of rabies cases in domestic and wild animals in Rio Grande do Norte. Data was obtained from the Rio Grande do Norte Public Health Secretariat database generated by the laboratory environment manager Dr. Almino Fernandes of the Central Laboratory between September 2013 and September 2023. The data included the results of examinations performed using direct immunofluorescence techniques and intracerebral inoculation in mice. Among different species, bats presented the highest frequency of posi-tive records and proportion in relation to the total number of positive animals during the study period (76.1%, 389 of 511 cases), followed by ruminants (10.4%, 53/511), wild carnivores (8.2%, 52/511), domestic carni-vores (2.5%, 13/511), Equidae (2.3%, 12/511), and pigs (0.4%, 2/511). The positive cases were distributed in 86 of 167 municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte. The highest rates of positive cases were recorded from Natal, Caicó, and Santo Antônio, with frequencies of
19.8, 10, and 8. 8% of cases, respectively. Thus, rabies may be introduced into urban environments from wild mammal reservoirs, especially from bats.