Rapid in-country sequencing of whole virus genomes to inform rabies elimination programmes.

Genomic surveillance is an important aspect of contemporary disease management but has yet to be used routinely to monitor endemic disease transmission and control in low- and middle-income countries. Rabies is an almost invariably fatal viral disease that causes a large public health and economic burden in Asia and Africa, despite being entirely vaccine preventable. With policy efforts now directed towards achieving a global goal of zero dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030, establishing effective surveillance tools is critical.

Pan-lyssavirus Real Time RT-PCR for Rabies Diagnosis.

Molecular assays are rapid, sensitive and specific, and have become central to diagnosing rabies. PCR based assays have been utilized for decades to confirm rabies diagnosis but have only recently been accepted by the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) as a primary method to detect rabies infection. Real-time RT-PCR assays provide real-time data, and are closed-tube systems, minimizing the risk of contamination during setup.