Ferret badger rabies origin and its revisited importance as potential source of rabies transmission in Southeast China

Abstract

BackgroundThe frequent occurrence of ferret badger-associated human rabies cases in southeast China highlights the lack of laboratory-based surveillance and urges revisiting the potential importance of this animal in rabies transmission. To determine if the ferret badgers actually contribute to human and dog rabies cases, and the possible origin of the ferret badger-associated rabies in the region, an active rabies survey was conducted to determine the frequency of rabies infection and seroprevalence in dogs and ferret badgers.MethodsA retrospective survey on rabies epidemics was performed in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces in southeast China. The brain tissues from ferret badgers and dogs were assayed by fluorescent antibody test. Rabies virus was isolated and sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. The sera from ferret badgers and dogs were titrated using rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (VNA) test.ResultsThe ferret badgers presented a higher percentage of rabies seroconversion than dogs did in the endemic region, reaching a maximum of 95% in the collected samples. Nine ferret badger-associated rabies viruses were isolated, sequenced, and were phylogenetically clustered as a separate group. Nucleotide sequence revealed 99.4-99.8% homology within the ferret badger isolates, and 83-89% homology to the dog isolates in the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes in the same rabies endemic regions.ConclusionsOur data suggest ferret badger-associated rabies has likely formed as an independent enzootic originating from dogs during the long-term rabies infestation in southeast China. The eventual role of FB rabies in public health remains unclear. However, management of ferret badger bites, rabies awareness and control in the related regions should be an immediate need.

National Borders Effectively Halt the Spread of Rabies: The Current Rabies Epidemic in China Is Dislocated from Cases in Neighboring Countries

“…Available data showed that at least three distinct RABV lineages survived the control program and successfully reemerged, suggesting the presence of multiple reservoirs to allow RABVs' persistence over an extended period. In China, domestic dogs served as the main reservoir for RABVs with wildlife such as ferret badger also identified as a reservoir but playing an underdetermined role in the epidemic [44], [45]. Bats act as an additional potential reservoir of RABV [46] although their role has yet to be investigated in the current epidemic.…”

Molecular Characterization of Cryptically Circulating Rabies Virus from Ferret Badgers, Taiwan

“…Mustelids, including various species of the genera Melogale , Meles , and Mellivora of the weasel family Mustelidae, can carry RABV ( 4 – 6 ). In southeastern China, Chinese ferret badgers (CNFB; Melogale moschata moschata ) have been associated with human rabies for many years and are considered to be a primary host in this region ( 7 – 9 ). …”

Disease Surveillance in Rescued and Road-Killed Wild-Ranging Carnivores in Taiwan

“…The upper aqueous phase was collected for total RNA extraction by using the RNeasy Mini Kit (QIAGEN Inc, Hilden, Germany) followed by cDNA synthesis by using the Transcriptor¯rst strand cDNA synthesis kit (Roche Diagnostics, IN, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Details of the RT-PCR primers 17 used and associated references are summarized in Table 2. 17,18 The amplicons were further sequenced (Tri-IBiotech Inc, Taipei, Taiwan) and compared with those viral sequences deposited in GenBank/EMBL/ DDBJ using the NCBI's BLAST program (http://www.…”

“…Details of the RT-PCR primers 17 used and associated references are summarized in Table 2. 17,18 The amplicons were further sequenced (Tri-IBiotech Inc, Taipei, Taiwan) and compared with those viral sequences deposited in GenBank/EMBL/ DDBJ using the NCBI's BLAST program (http://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST).…”