FAUNA DE MORCEGOS (MAMMALIA, CHIROPTERA) E A OCORRÊNCIA DE VÍRUS DA RAIVA NA CIDADE DE SÃO PAULO, BRASIL

Abstract

Bats are the second largest group of mammals and the most versatile of them, the diversity in
their diets is not found in any other kind of mammals. Brazil holds 167 species, most has
insectivorous feeding habits (70%) and the other species are distributed in frugivorous,
nectarivorous, hematophagous, omnivorous and piscivorous. Bats that live in urban areas are widely favored by the large supply of food and shelter present in big cities. The human
buildings are often used by these species as day roost and the easy adaptation makes bats
synanthropic animals. The proximity to people and also domestic animals may represent risk
of rabies transmission. The Center for Zoonosis Control in São Paulo maintains a service to
attend the population that claim having problems caused by bats and a rabies laboratory that
performed diagnosis by Direct Fluorescent and Mouse Inoculation tests in all bats collected.
This paper presents and analysis attendance data as well as the rabies diagnosis for the period
between 2004 and 2013. In this period 6945 requests were made and 4248 bats from 43
different species were captured in São Paulo City. Rabies virus was isolated in 38 bats: 33
insectivorous, four frugivorous and one nectarivorous. As for the location where positive bats
were captured, most of them were found in atypical situation for their species. Programs of
continuing education, aiming at instructing the population on the importance of bats and
demystifying the common sense for the bats among people, as well as a technical guindance
and support are necessary to stimulate the harmonious coexistence between people and these
animals. Preventive measures to avoid or eliminate their shelter in buildings are essential to
lower the risk of accidents with bats.