VULNERABILIDADE À CIRCULAÇÃO DO VÍRUS DA RAIVA POR MEIO DO CICLO SECUNDÁRIO NA ZONA RURAL DO MUNICÍPIO DE SÃO PEDRO - SP.

The presence of bats potentially infected with the rabies virus in anthropic areas constitutes a source of contamination for pets and humans, a fact that allows the transmission of the rabies virus from the infected bat at the time of predation or contact, and can constitute an important link between the air and terrestrial cycle of rabies called the secondary cycle. This work aimed to detect areas vulnerable to the circulation of the rabies virus through the secondary cycle in the rural area of the city of São Pedro - SP, using a multicriteria analysis model in Geographic Information System (GIS). Due to the absence of rabies cases in the region, the vulnerability to the circulation of the rabies virus in the municipality of São Pedro varied according to the distance from the shelters, the size of the bat population that occupied the shelters and the number of domestic carnivores in rural residences where there were bat colonies inhabiting the ceiling. The modeling in GIS of the vulnerability factors the presence of the rabies virus makes it possible to optimize the educational and epidemiological surveillance actions, focusing its efforts on the most vulnerable areas, thus saving time and resources and increasing the efficiency of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]