Public Veterinary Medicine: Public Health: Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2018

Ma, Xiaoyue; Monroe, Ben; Cleaton, Julie M.; Orciari, Lillian A.; Gigante, Crystal M.; Kirby, Jordona D.; Chipman, Richard B.; Fehlner-Gardiner, Christine; Cedillo, Veronica Gutiérrez; Petersen, Brett W.; Olson, Victoria A.; Wallace, Ryan M.

doi:10.2460/javma.256.2.195

Cited by 69 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Bats are a reservoir of rabies virus and represent the most commonly detected rabies carriers in the United States. Additionally, bats are the reservoir of numerous zoonotic diseases worldwide and so are of particular concern when exposed to humans ( 1 , 12 ). Here, we utilized big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ) submitted for rabies detection that tested negative for rabies virus to screen for potential novel and zoonotic viruses using viral metagenomic sequencing.…”

Section: Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

North American Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Harbor an Exogenous Deltaretrovirus

Hause

Nelson

Christopher‐Hennings

2020

mSphere

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Bats are the reservoir for a large number of zoonotic viruses, including members of Coronaviridae (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus [SARS-CoV] and SARS-CoV-2), Paramyxoviridae (Hendra and Nipah viruses), Rhabdoviridae (rabies virus), and Filoviridae (Ebola virus) as exemplars. Many retroviruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus, are similarly zoonotic; however, only infectious exogenous gammaretroviruses have recently been identified in bats. Here, viral metagenomic sequencing of samples from bats submitted for rabies virus testing, largely due to human exposure, identified a novel, highly divergent exogenous Deltaretrovirus from a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) in South Dakota. The virus sequence, corresponding to Eptesicus fuscus deltaretrovirus (EfDRV), comprised a nearly complete coding region comprised of canonical 5′-gag-pro-pol-env-3′ genes with 37% to 51% identity to human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), an infectious retrovirus that causes T-cell lymphoma. A putative tax gene with 27% identity to HTLV was located downstream of the pol gene along with a gene harbored in an alternative reading frame which possessed a conserved domain for an Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen involved in gene transactivation, suggesting a regulatory function similar to that of the deltaretrovirus rex gene. A TaqMan reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) targeting the pol gene identified 4/60 (6.7%) bats as positive for EfDRV, which, combined with a search of the E. fuscus genome that failed to identify sequences with homology to EfDRV, suggests that EfDRV is an infectious exogenous virus. As all known members of Deltaretrovirus can cause malignancies and E. fuscus is widely distributed in the Americas, often with a colonial roosting behavior in human dwellings, further studies are needed to investigate potential zoonosis. IMPORTANCE Bats host a large numbers of viruses, many of which are zoonotic. In the United States, the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) is widely distributed and lives in small colonies that roost in cavities, often in human dwellings, leading to frequent human interaction. Viral metagenomic sequencing of samples from an E. fuscus bat submitted for rabies testing identified the first exogenous bat Deltaretrovirus. The E. fuscus deltaretrovirus (EfDRV) genome consists of the typical deltaretrovial 5′-gag-pro-pol-env-3′ genes along with genes encoding two putative transcriptional transactivator proteins distantly related to the Tax protein of human T-cell lymphotrophic virus and nuclear antigen 3B of Epstein-Barr virus. Searches of the E. fuscus genome sequence failed to identify endogenous EfDRV. RT-PCR targeting the EfDRV pol gene identified 4/60 (6.7%) bats with positive results. Together, these results suggest that EfDRV is exogenous. As all members of Deltaretrovirus are associated with T- and B-cell malignancies or neurologic disease, further studies on possible zoonosis are warranted.

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Section: Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

North American Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Harbor an Exogenous Deltaretrovirus

Hause

Nelson

Christopher‐Hennings

2020

mSphere

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“…The possibility of cross-species transmission to domestic animal populations increases the opportunity for disease emergence in humans due to the multidimensional linkage domestic animals present in modern society. From 2004 to 2018, an average of 72 dogs and 279 cats were diagnosed with rabies in the United States annually [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], nearly all after contact with a wild animal. Human rabies cases, which once fluctuated between 30 to 50 infections yearly, have since decreased to approximately 3 deaths per year, and nearly all were acquired either domestically from bats or overseas from dogs [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although companion animals are required to be vaccinated for rabies in New York State, many owned cats are not vaccinated despite the risk of being exposed to rabid wildlife outdoors or the possibility of a rabid animal entering the home, such as a bat. Since the control of canine rabies in the United States, cats have become the most common domestic animal to contract rabies and the fifth most common species after bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes [18]. Since 1988, the number of rabid cats diagnosed with rabies in the US annually has surpassed the number of rabid dogs [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feline and Canine Rabies in New York State, USA

Brunt

Solomon

Brown

et al. 2021

Viruses

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In New York State, domestic animals are no longer considered rabies vector species, but given their ubiquity with humans, rabies cases in dogs and cats often result in multiple individuals requiring post-exposure prophylaxis. For over a decade, the New York State rabies laboratory has variant-typed these domestic animals to aid in epidemiological investigations, determine exposures, and generate demographic data. We produced a data set that outlined vaccination status, ownership, and rabies results. Our data demonstrate that a large percentage of felines submitted for rabies testing were not vaccinated or did not have a current rabies vaccination, while canines were largely vaccinated. Despite massive vaccination campaigns, free clinics, and education, these companion animals still occasionally contract rabies. Barring translocation events, we note that rabies-positive cats and dogs in New York State have exclusively contracted a raccoon variant. While the United States has made tremendous strides in reducing its rabies burden, we hope these data will encourage responsible pet ownership including rabies vaccinations to reduce unnecessary animal mortality, long quarantines, and post-exposure prophylaxis in humans.

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“…Still, rabies endemic in wildlife presents a threat to humans and domestic animals. Rabies surveillance in the United States involves over 125 rabies testing laboratories (5). Each year, more than 100,000 animal samples are tested, and approximately 5,000 rabid animals are identified (5,6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rabies is maintained in many species of bats across the continent, and several bat rabies virus variants have been identified (7)(8)(9)(10). Rabies variants endemic in raccoons, skunks, and foxes have distinct geographic distributions with few areas of overlap (5,6). A single variant known as "Eastern Raccoon" rabies virus variant is endemic in raccoons along the East Coast.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Early Rabies Infection Detected in Two Raccoon Cases by LN34 pan-lyssavirus real-time RT-PCR Assay in Pennsylvania

Dettinger

Strohecker

et al. 2021

Preprint

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During 2017 – 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Health Bureau of Laboratories (PABOL) tested 6,855 animal samples for rabies using both the gold standard direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test and LN34 pan-lyssavirus reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Two samples (0.03 %) were identified as LN34 RT-qPCR positive after failure to detect rabies virus antigen during initial DFA testing: an adult raccoon collected in 2017 and a juvenile raccoon collected in 2019. After the positive PCR result, additional tissues were collected and re-tested by DFA, where very sparse, disperse antigen was observed. Tissues from both animals were submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for confirmatory testing, and were confirmed positive. At both PABOL and CDC, rabies virus antigen and RNA levels were much lower than for a typical rabies case. In addition, rabies virus antigen and RNA levels were higher in brain stem and rostral spinal cord than cerebellum, hippocampus and cortex. Cross-contamination was ruled out in the case of the 2019 juvenile raccoon by sequencing, as nucleoprotein and glycoprotein gene sequences displayed >1% nucleotide differences to sequences from all positive samples processed at PABOL within two weeks of the juvenile raccoon. Taken together, the low level of rabies virus in the central nervous system combined with presence in more caudal brain structures suggest the possibility of an early infection in both cases. These two cases highlight the increased sensitivity and ease of interpretation of LN34 RT-qPCR in rabies diagnostics for the identification of low positive cases.

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Public Veterinary Medicine: Public Health: Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2018

Cited by 69 publications

References 18 publications

North American Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Harbor an Exogenous Deltaretrovirus

North American Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus) Harbor an Exogenous Deltaretrovirus

Feline and Canine Rabies in New York State, USA

Potential Early Rabies Infection Detected in Two Raccoon Cases by LN34 pan-lyssavirus real-time RT-PCR Assay in Pennsylvania

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