Bovine paralytic rabies in the state of Tamaulipas from the perspective of the distribution of its main reservoir, the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus)

Abstract

Rabies is the zoonosis with the most significant impact on domestic herbivores, causing economic losses of approximately 97 million dollars annually in Latin America. In this region, the common vampire (Desmodus rotundus) is a reservoir of the rabies virus and is considered its main transmitter to livestock. The objective of this study was to analyze the progression of bovine paralytic rabies (BPR) and its association with the presence and distribution of D. rotundus in Tamaulipas, Mexico, focusing on the environmental factors (ecological and geographical characteristics) that favor it. Municipalities' annual distribution of detected cases of BPR in Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2020 was analyzed. The spatial distribution of the bat D. rotundus was studied considering the biological characteristics of the species, as well as those of Tamaulipas. BPR, associated with D. rotundus through typification of the antigenic variant of the virus, occurred in 28 of the 43 municipalities comprising the state, with a marked tendency to expand itself from the south to the north. The Veracruz humid forest ecoregion concentrated the highest number of cases of BPR and the presence of the vampire. Both factors were influenced by different types of vegetation, such as agricultural areas, pastures, and jungles. The trend observed in the last 10 years of advancing towards the north of the state on the part of D. rotundus and the outbreaks of RPB casesin those areas suggests that the species is likely to expand its distribution to the United States of America, a country currently considered free of the presence of the organism, mainly to the neighboring state of Texas, because its geographical and ecological characteristics are similar to those of the state analyzed.