What do studies in wild mammals tell us about human emerging viral diseases in Mexico?

Abstract

Multiple species of viruses circulate in wild mammals, some of them potentially causing zoonosis. Most of the suspected viral zoonotic diseases affecting human patients remain unidentified with regard to their aetiological agent. The aim of this study is to summarize the state of knowledge of the viral richness associated with wild mammals in Mexico throughout 1900–2018 and their relationship with human cases. We compiled two databases, one of them containing all available published studies on potentially zoonotic viruses in wild mammals and another with human cases related to zoonotic viruses. The database on wild mammals covers the period of 1900–2018; the human case database spans 2000–2013. We calculated the richness of viral potential zoonotic agents and evaluated their geographical distribution. We found 262 records of 42 potential zoonotic viral species associated with 92 wild mammal species in 28 states across Mexico. Records of human viral cases were only found in 29 states, which did not overlap with the reports in wild mammals. We detected 25.6% (42/164) of viral zoonotic agents reported worldwide. This analysis opens a relevant topic of discussion for public health attention.

Lyme disease and relapsing fever in Mexico: An overview of human and wildlife infections

“…Although human cases have been reported the states Morelos, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz and Mexico City, animal studies are lacking. This situation has also been shown for another groups of pathogens in Mexico such as viruses [ 63 ]. The human cases reported in Mexico City most likely refer to patients that were transferred from regional health centers to larger hospitals in the city for better diagnosis and treatment.…”

“…An extensive research of the literature was made to compile a database of published studies of Borrelia in human cases, mammals and ticks in Mexico from 1939 to 2020. A combination of keywords: “Borrelia”, “borreliosis”, “mammals”, “Mexico” and “human cases” were used in specialized databases including BioOne, Elsevier, Highwire, Iris, JSTOR, Pubmed, Scopus, SpringerLink, Wiley Online, Web of Science and Zoological Records, as has been previously proposed [ 63 ]. Articles reported in those studies were also analyzed by cross-referencing.…”

SARS-CoV-2, los murciélagos no son los responsables

“…En estos tiempos, los murciélagos han sido la "habladuría" y chivos expiatorios de quienes buscan "culpables" o responsables del coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. No se trata de encontrar culpables o buscar "nuevos" virus en animales silvestres para alertar de posibles futuras pandemias (Taylor et al, 2001;Colunga-Salas et al, 2020;Zheng, 2020); existen tantos microorganismos en la naturaleza, que si se buscan, se van a encontrar nuevas especies; las predicciones apuntan a que existen unos 8.75 millones (± 1,3 millones EE) de especies (plantas, animales, hongos, bacterias) a nivel mundial, y tan solo conocemos 1.24 millones (Mora et al 2011). Lo importante es identificar y reconocer qué estamos haciendo, o qué dejamos de hacer, que provoca estas desastrosas consecuencias.…”

Molecular Detection of Tick-Borne Pathogens in American Bison (Bison bison) at El Uno Ecological Reserve, Janos, Chihuahua, Mexico

“…The potential role of wildlife as a source of infection for domestic animals has been widely discussed [9]. Brucellosis, a non-vector-transmitted disease capable of causing abortions [10], has been detected in the Yellowstone bison population since 1917 [11]; many animals of this herd migrate to winter ranges, increasing the risk of wildlife-domestic contagions.…”