Vaccinia Virus among Domestic Dogs and Wild Coatis, Brazil, 2013-2015

Abstract

To determine their potential role as a source of human infection, we tested domestic dogs (urban) and wild coatis (wild) in Brazil for vaccinia virus. Our findings of positive neutralizing antibodies and quantitative PCR results for 35/184 dogs and 13/90 coatis highlight a potential public health risk.

Keywords: Brazil; Orthopoxvirus; emerging virus; public health; urban domestic dogs; vaccinia virus; viruses; wild coatis; zoonoses.

Figure 1

Area of study of vaccinia virus among domestic dogs and wild coatis, Brazil, 2013–2015. A) Countries in South America where vaccinia virus has been detected in recent years. B) Belo Horizonte (red locator), located in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. C) Regions of Belo Horizonte; green indicates area in wild environment where coatis were captured. D) Google Earth map from 2017 of studied area, showing details of the wild and urban environments. Green dots indicate where coatis were captured; blue dots indicate where dogs were sampled. Source: https://www.google.com/earth.

Figure 2

A hypothetical model developed to visualize the role of domestic animals and wildlife in the natural cycle of vaccinia virus (VACV). The model illustrates the dynamics of VACV circulation in urban and wild areas of Brazil. In urban areas, wild coatis could promote the transmission of VACV between domestic animals or humans because they are in direct contact with domestic dogs and circulate among urban residences. Domestic dogs could also promote the transmission of VACV to humans because of direct contact or possibly indirect contact thought contaminated feces. In the wild environment, coatis can interact with other mammals such as wild rodents, which are believed to be VACV reservoirs, and acquire the infection (this potential interaction is still under investigation).