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Nidia Arechiga-Ceballos and Paola Puebla-Rodriguez
Institute of Diagnosis and Epidemiological Reference, Mexico Popular Autonomous University of the State of Puebla, Mexico
Keynote: J Vet Res Med
Background: In Mexico, recently emergent potential reservoirs for rabies virus (RABV) have been identified, such as white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) and the non-previously described as rabies reservoir the skunk Mephitis macroura. Since 2000 to 2023, there have been six cases of human rabies transmitted by skunks. The presence of eight species of skunks is described, but the correct identification of these species has been a limitation to associate them with specific antigenic variants (V) and RABV lineages. Methods: A total of positive skunk samples (n=31) were diagnosed in the Rabies Laboratory of the Instituto de Diagnostico y Referencia Epidemiologicos (InDRE) and antigenic variants detected: V10 (South Baja California skunk), V8 (south central skunk), V1 (northern skunk), and Yucatan Sylvatic (Figure 1). Results: V10 is restricted to the state of SBC, while V1, from the terrestrial cycle, has subsequently settled in wild populations, whereas V8, of bat origin. Yucatan Sylvatic variant has been described in skunks, domestic cats, and dogs. Although skunks have been found to be a species with the potential to successfully maintain and transmit RABV, there is a lack of knowledge about the identity of the reservoir species in the country. The literature describes Spilogale putorius as the main RABV reservoir skunk species in Mexico, but the distribution of the species in the territory makes it unlikely. It must be some other species with a wider distribution in the country, as happened in the state of Nuevo Leon, where the main reservoir was believed to be Mephitis mephitis but Mephitis macroura was recently described. Conclusions: Correct taxonomic/molecular identification of the skunk species will be essential in understanding the dynamics of the RABV in skunk populations and the distribution of variants by region and host. Yucatan sylvatic variant and northern skunk V1 share a canine origin that make them prone to return to dogs, where the disease can easily become enzootic again. Therefore, vaccination campaigns must continue to avoid the reintroduction from skunks to non-vaccinated dogs. The establishment of a dequate control measures requires knowledge of the biological features of the emerging reservoir species of RABV in Mexico.
Recent Publications:
1. Puebla-Rodríguez, P., Almazán-Marín, C., Garcés-Ayala, F., Rendón-Franco, E., Chávez-López., S., Gómez-Sierra, M., Sandoval-Borja, A, Martínez-Solís, D., Escamilla-Ríos, B., Sauri-González, I., Alonzo-Góngora, A., López-Martínez, I. and Aréchiga-Ceballos, N. Rabies virus in white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in Mexico: What do we know so far?. Frontiers in Veterinary Sciences. 2023.
2. Aréchiga Ceballos N, Puebla Rodríguez P, Aguilar Setién A. The New Face of Human Rabies in Mexico, What's Next After Eradicating Rabies in Dogs. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 2022 22(2).69-75. http://doi.org/10.1089/ vbz.2021.0051
3. Aguilar-Setién A, Aréchiga-Ceballos N, Balsamo Gary A, Behrman Amy J, Frank Hannah K, Fujimoto Gary R, Gilman Duane E, Warner Hudson III T, Jones Shelley M, Ochoa Carrera Luis A, Powell Gregory L, Smith Carrie A, Triantis Van Sickle J, and Vleck Susan E. Biosafety Practices When Working with Bats: A Guide to Field Research Considerations. Applied Biosafety. 2022, (27) 3: 169-190. doi: 10.1089/apb.2022.0019.
4. Garcés-Ayala F, Aguilar-Setién Á, Almazán-Marín C, Cuautle-Zavala C, Chávez-López S, Martínez-Solís D, Gómez-Sierra M, Sandoval-Borja A, Escamilla-Ríos B, López-Martínez I, Aréchiga-Ceballos N. Rabies Virus Variants Detected from Cougar (Puma concolor) in Mexico 2000–2021. Pathogens. 2022, 11(2):265. https://doi.org/10.3390/ pathogens11020265
5. Jaramillo-Reyna E, Almazán-Marín C, de la O-Cavazos ME, Valdéz-Leal R, Bañuelos-Álvarez AH, Zúñiga-Ramos MA, Melo-Munguía M, Gómez-Sierra M, Sandoval-Borja A, Chávez-López S,. Díaz-Quiñonez JA, Aréchiga-Ceballos N. Rabies virus variants identified in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico, from 2008 to 2015. JAVMA. 2020, 256 (4). 438-443. doi: 10.2460/javma.256.4.438. PMID: 31999515
Nidia Aréchiga-Ceballos holds a degree in Biology from the School of Sciences at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. She completed her Master’s degree and PhD. in Biochemical Sciences at the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologicas of the Instituto Politecnico Nacional. She has been a guest researcher at different institutions, including Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France; and the Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, in the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, Georgia. She completed a post-doc at the Unit for Viral Isolation and Detection of the National Center for Microbiology at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, Spain. In 2012, she won Mexico’s national prize for Scientific Journalism and Outreach. She belongs to the Mexican Network of Virology and the Latin American Society for Vector Ecology. She is currently technical support at the Diagnosis and Reference Direction of the Mexican Reference Laboratory InDRE, where formerly she was the Chief of the Rabies Laboratory and coordinated the National Network of Public Health Laboratories for Rabies Diagnosis. Her research is focused on viral diseases in wildlife, particularly in bats and procyonids.
