Government Response to the Discovery of a Rabies Virus Reservoir Species on a Previously Designated Rabies‐Free Island, Taiwan, 1999–2014

Abstract

Summary Taiwan had been considered rabies free since 1961. In 2013, Taiwan confirmed the detection of rabies virus in wild Taiwan ferret‐badgers. Up to December 2014, there have been 423 rabies‐confirmed ferret‐badgers and three cases of spillover infection into non‐reservoir hosts. Genetic analysis indicates that TFBV is distinct from all other known rabies virus variants. To date, ferret‐badger rabies is known to occur only in China and Taiwan. The temporal dynamics of rabid ferret‐badgers in Taiwan suggests that the epizootic appears to have subsided to enzootic levels as of December 2014. According to the current epidemiologic data, there is only one TFBV strain in Taiwan. TFBV is still sequestered to the mountainous regions. Humans are at risk mainly through exposure to the virus from infected domestic meso‐carnivores, mainly dogs and cats. Dogs and cats should be vaccinated to establish an immunological barrier to stop the spread of the disease from mountainous regions to domestic meso‐carnivores.

A permanent host shift of rabies virus from Chiroptera to Carnivora associated with recombination

“…Although RABV is usually maintained in distinct host species-associated transmission cycles, typically within the Carnivora and Chiroptera 5–7 , host shift events are still of public health concern due to increasing risks of human exposures 7 . Recent host shifts between carnivores include the re-emergence of RABV in wild Taiwan ferret-badgers 8 , as well as the outbreaks of domestic dog-associated RABV in Ethiopian wolves 9 and of striped skunk-associated RABV in gray foxes in California 10 . It has also been reported that multiple host shifts between bat and mesocarnivores have occurred with the big brown bat-associated RABV in Arizona 11 .…”

The Landscape and Demographic Features Associated with Ferret Badger Rabies in Taiwan East Area

“…These two epidemic areas are considered as two independent groups in epidemiology [2] as well as in phylogeny of nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes [16]. This study is the research results of the east epidemic area.…”

“…Ferret badger (Melogale moschata) is the sole reservoir host for the rabies virus, and the epidemic is only prevalent in Taiwan Island [1,2]. Epidemiologically, it is indicated that there were the Main (West) and East epidemic areas separated by the Central Mountain Ranges [2,3].…”

“…Ferret badger (Melogale moschata) is the sole reservoir host for the rabies virus, and the epidemic is only prevalent in Taiwan Island [1,2]. Epidemiologically, it is indicated that there were the Main (West) and East epidemic areas separated by the Central Mountain Ranges [2,3]. The phylogeny of nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes of ferret badger rabies virus revealed the RABV to be clustered in two distinct groups, TWI and TWII, which were consistent with the geographic segregation into the East and West areas separated by the Central Mountain Range [3].…”

Benefit-cost analysis of the policy of mandatory annual rabies vaccination of domestic dogs in rabies-free Japan

“…Malaysia also adopts a dog vaccination policy building a 50 to 80 km immune belt along the border with Thailand; the country had been declared rabies-free since 2012 until 2015 when the disease was introduced most probably from Thailand [9]. Taiwan enforces rabies vaccination in both domestic dogs and cats, and had been rabies-free since 1961 until an epizootic of Chinese ferret-badger started in 2013 [10].…”