Species determination of Brazilian mammals implicated in the epidemiology of rabies based on the control region of mitochondrial DNA

Identification of animals that are decomposing or have been run over or burnt and cannot be visually identified is a problem in the surveillance and control of infectious diseases. Many of these animals are wild and represent a valuable source of information for epidemiologic research as they may be carriers of an infectious agent. This article discusses the results obtained using a method for identifying mammals genetically by sequencing their mitochondrial DNA control region. Fourteen species were analyzed and identified. These included the main reservoirs and transmitters of rabies virus, namely, canids, chiroptera and primates. The results prove that this method of genetic identification is both efficient and simple and that it can be used in the surveillance of infectious diseases which includes mammals in their epidemiologic cycle, such as rabies.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Carnieli Junior,Pedro, Fahl,Willian de Oliveira, Castilho,Juliana Galera, Brandão,Paulo Eduardo, Carrieri,Maria Luiza, Kotait,Ivanete
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases 2008
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-86702008000600002
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