From Field Tests to Molecular Tools—Evaluating Diagnostic Tests to Improve Rabies Surveillance in Namibia

Abstract

Rabies is endemic in Namibia and is present both in wildlife carnivores and domestic free-roaming dogs. The disease thus represents a challenge for public human and veterinary disease control. Namibia has implemented a national strategic plan to control rabies and the country’s activities are supported by international organizations. To this end, rabies diagnosis at the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) was improved in the frame of a World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) laboratory twinning program: from practical sampling techniques and the use of lateral flow devices to a novel universal and discriminatory quantitative real-time Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), which easily identify dog-associated rabies viruses. The procedures applied and the results can be used as a template to improve rabies laboratory diagnosis.

Special Issue “Advances in Rabies Research”

“…Accordingly, the World Organization for Animal Health has supported several related laboratory twinning initiatives. Such a collaboration between the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany, and the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Windhoek, Namibia, describes the application of multiple testing regimens, including the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test, multiple RT-PCRs and the feasibility of the field use of lateral flow devices [ 1 ]. While the DFA test remains the gold standard method of rabies diagnosis, real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) tests, which are potentially more sensitive than traditional tests, have gained increased acceptance.…”