GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean


were reported in Peru with more than 20 cases. By comparing data from field studies conducted in Brazil in 2005 with those of the previous decade, it was suggested that similar situations regarding bat bite at the local level were occurring (Schneider et al. 2009).


In the case of rabies in the Amazon region, some possible risks have been considered, such as gold prospecting, land-use change, land clearing and other changes induced by human activities. Thus more research is needed to clarify causality in rabies outbreaks. Monitoring should be complemented by an exchange of information between health and agricultural sectors, including cases of rabies and bat bites in humans and animals. All this information may anticipate possible events and propose successful interventions before the beginning of an outbreak (Schneider et al. 2009). In order to understand the role of environmental change in the appearance of diseases involving vectors, an integrated approach based on biological, ecological, anthropological and sociological aspects should be developed.


Human rabies in Brazil


Since 2006, cases of human rabies transmitted by animals in Brazil have declined dramatically. Among the officially confirmed cases, 18 cases were for dog transmission, only 6 cases of transmission by bats, two of which by vampire bats, five cases confirmed by transmission primates, especially in north-eastern Brazil, where marmosets are pets. From 2006 until the first half of 2015, there were no cases of human rabies in the Brazilian Amazon, 3 cases were reported in the north-eastern region and 3 in the Midwest region and no cases in southern Brazil (MS 2015).


Although cases of human rabies have fallen in the last 10 years in Brazil, exposure is possible considering the number of confirmed cases in wild and domestic animals in the various regions. In 2014, 38 notifications were confirmed in animals in the Amazon, 139 in the Northeast, 541 in the southeast, 90 in the Midwest and 243 in southern Brazil. Among the confirmed cases, most occurred in livestock (cattle = 744 cases and horses = 111 cases), but the rabies virus has been confirmed in 139


206


non-vampire bats and 11 vampire bats and three primates, 10 crab-eating fox and even 19 other animals (MS 2015).


Governmental efforts have been undertaken with the vaccination coverage in effect reducing the canine and feline rabies, especially in urban centres. However, in remote areas where access to information is rare, rabies in other animals is common and health care is far, the risks are great, considering the number of bats bites in people (MS 2015a). Seeking to expand wildlife diseases and zoonosis monitoring capabilities in remote areas, Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) and LNCC (National Scientific Computing Laboratory) developed the “Information System on Wildlife Health” (SISS-Geo). Using citizen science and a researcher’s network, animals are recorded by anyone in the field and computational modelling generates alerts. SISS-Geo is available free on mobile and web (www.biodiversidade. fiocruz.ciss.br). The photographic record, the description of the condition of the animals, local environmental data and georeferenced location by GPS without internet access or telephone, identifies the occurrence of animals with no loss of data, essential for confirmation of the alert by the competent authorities. The application is in use by traditional communities in the Extractive Reserve of Tapajós-Arapiuns, in Pará, and in the south of Bahia, in the Atlantic Forest area.


31. An overview about the ecosystem services of wetlands in Latin America and the Caribbean


Despite wetlands being recognized as key ecosystems due to the high amount of ecosystem services that they provide to society, they are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Recent studies indicate that wetlands cover about 30 per cent of the territory of tropical South America (Junk et al. 2013; Ricaurte et al. 2012) and show that there is a wide variety of coastal, inland and artificial wetland types in LAC.


In LAC, wetlands are present in daily life through the various provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services. They are the main source of water for human consumption and industrial purposes. Rivers, lakes and lagoons provide


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