Walfrido Kühl SVOBODA(1), Manoel do Carmo Pereira SOARES(2), Max Moreira ALVES(2), Tatiana Carneiro ROCHA(3), Eliane Carneiro GOMES(3), Fabiana MENONCIN(3), Paulo Mira BATISTA(4), Lineu Roberto da SILVA(5), Selwyn Arlington HEADLEY(6,7), Carmen Lúcia Scortecci HILST(6), Lucas M. AGUIAR(1), Gabriela LUDWIG(8), Fernando de Camargo PASSOS(3), Júlio Cesar de SOUZA Jr.(9) & Italmar Teodorico NAVARRO(6) |
SUMMARY Nonhuman primates are considered as the natural hosts of Hepatitis A virus (HAV), as well as other pathogens, and can serve as natural sentinels to investigate epizootics and endemic diseases that are of public health importance. During this study, blood samples were collected from 112 Neotropical primates (NTPs) (Sapajus nigritus and S. cay, n = 75; Alouatta caraya, n = 37) trap-captured at the Paraná River basin, Brazil, located between the States of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul. Anti-HAV IgG antibodies were detected in 4.5% (5/112) of NTPs, specifically in 6.7% (5/75) of Sapajus spp. and 0% (0/37) of A. caraya. In addition, all samples were negative for the presence of IgM anti-HAV antibodies. These results suggest that free-ranging NTPs were exposed to HAV within the geographical regions evaluated. KEYWORDS: Hepatitis A; New World monkeys; Zoonosis; Serology. |