Investigating the emergence of a zoonotic virus: phylogenetic analysis of European bat lyssavirus 1 in the UK.

European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1, ) is predominantly detected in serotine bats () and is responsible for the majority of bat rabies cases in mainland Europe. A passive bat rabies surveillance scheme detected the virus in a serotine bat in the UK for the first time in October 2018. As of May 2024, 34 cases have been reported, 20 of which involved contact with an animal and 5 reported human contact.

A multi-country One Health foodborne outbreak simulation exercise: cross-sectoral cooperation, data sharing and communication.

Introduction: The awareness of scientists and policy makers regarding the requirement for an integrated One Health (OH) approach in responding to zoonoses has increased in recent years. However, there remains an overall inertia in relation to the implementation of practical cross-sector collaborations. Foodborne outbreaks of zoonotic diseases continue to affect the European population despite stringent regulations, evidencing the requirement for better 'prevent, detect and response' strategies.

Integrating contact tracing and whole-genome sequencing to track the elimination of dog-mediated rabies: An observational and genomic study.

Background: Dog-mediated rabies is endemic across Africa causing thousands of human deaths annually. A One Health approach to rabies is advocated, comprising emergency post-exposure vaccination of bite victims and mass dog vaccination to break the transmission cycle. However, the impacts and cost-effectiveness of these components are difficult to disentangle.

Rabies in kudu: Revisited.

Rabies infects all mammals; however, transmission cycles are only maintained in certain bat and carnivore species. The high incidence of rabies in Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) observed in Namibia for over 40 years has led to postulation that independent virus transmission is occurring within this antelope population. We have analysed extensive experimental, epidemiological, phylogeographic and deep sequence data, which collectively refute maintenance of an independent rabies cycle in kudu.

Incursion of European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) in Serotine Bats in the United Kingdom.

Lyssaviruses are an important genus of zoonotic viruses which cause the disease rabies. The United Kingdom is free of classical rabies (RABV). However, bat rabies due to European bat lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2), has been detected in Daubenton's bats () in Great Britain since 1996, including a fatal human case in Scotland in 2002.

Investigating the Efficacy of a Canine Rabies Vaccine Following Storage Outside of the Cold-Chain in a Passive Cooling Device.

Thermostable vaccines greatly improved the reach and impact of large-scale programmes to eliminate infectious diseases such as smallpox, polio, and rinderpest. A study from 2015 demonstrated that the potency of the Nobivac Rabies vaccine was not impacted following experimental storage at 30°C for 3 months. Whether the vaccine would remain efficacious following storage under more natural, fluctuating temperature conditions remains unknown.

Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of rabies viruses from Jordan.

Human fatalities caused by rabies are rarely reported in Jordan; however, domestic animals are more likely to fall victim to rabies compared to wild animals, at least this is the case in Jordan due to the presence of canine rabies. In this study, twelve brain samples from domestic and wild animals suspected of being infected with rabies virus from different regions of Jordan were collected during 2019. Seven of them tested positive using the fluorescent antibody test and real-time SYBR RT-PCR assay.

Full-Genome Sequences and Phylogenetic Analysis of Archived Danish European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) Emphasize a Higher Genetic Resolution and Spatial Segregation for Sublineage 1a.

European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1) is the causative agent for almost all reported rabies cases found in European bats. In recent years, increasing numbers of available EBLV-1 full genomes and their phylogenetic analyses helped to further elucidate the distribution and genetic characteristics of EBLV-1 and its two subtypes, namely EBLV-1a and EBLV-1b. Nonetheless, the absence of full-genome sequences from regions with known detections of EBLV-1 still limit the understanding of the phylogeographic relations between viruses from different European regions.

Bat-Borne Coronaviruses in Jordan and Saudi Arabia: A Threat to Public Health?

Emerging infectious diseases are of great concern to public health, as highlighted by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Such diseases are of particular danger during mass gathering and mass influx events, as large crowds of people in close proximity to each other creates optimal opportunities for disease transmission. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are two countries that have witnessed mass gatherings due to the arrival of Syrian refugees and the annual Hajj season.

Quantifying and mapping the burden of human and animal rabies in Iraq.

Rabies was first reported in ancient Iraqi civilizations, yet it remains a poorly quantified and important public health threat in the region. Efforts to control rabies in Iraq including dog population control, and vaccination of livestock and dogs, have increased since 2010. Officially reported data on human rabies, dog bites, and animal rabies cases between 2012 and 2017 are analysed here to assess the effect of existing control efforts, to inform future strategies, and to highlight gaps in surveillance and reporting.

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.

Rabies in the African Civet: An Incidental Host for Lyssaviruses?

In South Africa, canid rabies virus (RABV) infection is maintained in domestic and wildlife species. The identification of rabies in African civets raised the question of whether this wildlife carnivore is a potential reservoir host of RABVs of direct and ancestral dog origin (dog-maintained and dog-derived origins) with an independent cycle of transmission. Genetic analyses of African civet nucleoprotein sequences for 23 African civet RABVs and historically published sequences demonstrated that RABVs from African civets have two origins related to dog and mongoose rabies enzootics.

Further Evidence of Inadequate Quality in Lateral Flow Devices Commercially Offered for the Diagnosis of Rabies.

As a neglected zoonotic disease, rabies causes approximately 5.9 × 10 human deaths annually, primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa. In those regions, insufficient surveillance is hampering adequate medical intervention and is driving the vicious cycle of neglect.

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.

Shared Common Ancestry of Rodent Alphacoronaviruses Sampled Globally.

The recent discovery of novel alphacoronaviruses (alpha-CoVs) in European and Asian rodents revealed that rodent coronaviruses (CoVs) sampled worldwide formed a discrete phylogenetic group within this genus. To determine the evolutionary history of rodent CoVs in more detail, particularly the relative frequencies of virus-host co-divergence and cross-species transmission, we recovered longer fragments of CoV genomes from previously discovered European rodent alpha-CoVs using a combination of PCR and high-throughput sequencing. Accordingly, the full genome sequence was retrieved from the UK rat coronavirus, along with partial genome sequences from the UK field vole and Poland-resident bank vole CoVs, and a short conserved ORF1b fragment from the French rabbit CoV.

Assessment of vector competence of UK mosquitoes for Usutu virus of African origin.

Background: Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging zoonotic virus originally from sub-Saharan Africa. It has been introduced into Europe on multiple occasions, causing substantial mortality within the Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) population. It is transmitted by the mosquito species Culex pipiens in Europe and Africa.

Isolation, antigenicity and immunogenicity of Lleida bat lyssavirus.

The lyssaviruses are an important group of viruses that cause a fatal encephalitis termed rabies. The prototypic lyssavirus, rabies virus, is predicted to cause more than 60 000 human fatalities annually. The burden of disease for the other lyssaviruses is undefined.

Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2018.

In 2018, the order Mononegavirales was expanded by inclusion of 1 new genus and 12 novel species. This article presents the updated taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales as now accepted by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) and summarizes additional taxonomic proposals that may affect the order in the near future.

Pathogenesis of bat rabies in a natural reservoir: Comparative susceptibility of the straw-colored fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) to three strains of Lagos bat virus.

Rabies is a fatal neurologic disease caused by lyssavirus infection. People are infected through contact with infected animals. The relative increase of human rabies acquired from bats calls for a better understanding of lyssavirus infections in their natural hosts.

Defining objective clusters for rabies virus sequences using affinity propagation clustering.

Rabies is caused by lyssaviruses, and is one of the oldest known zoonoses. In recent years, more than 21,000 nucleotide sequences of rabies viruses (RABV), from the prototype species rabies lyssavirus, have been deposited in public databases. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses in combination with metadata suggest geographic distributions of RABV.

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2.

Bat rabies cases in Europe are mainly attributed to two lyssaviruses, namely European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) and European Bat Lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2). Prior to the death of a bat worker in Finland in 1985, very few bat rabies cases were reported. Enhanced surveillance in the two subsequent years (1986-1987) identified 263 cases (more than a fifth of all reported cases to date).

Landscape attributes governing local transmission of an endemic zoonosis: Rabies virus in domestic dogs.

Landscape heterogeneity plays an important role in disease spread and persistence, but quantifying landscape influences and their scale dependence is challenging. Studies have focused on how environmental features or global transport networks influence pathogen invasion and spread, but their influence on local transmission dynamics that underpin the persistence of endemic diseases remains unexplored. Bayesian phylogeographic frameworks that incorporate spatial heterogeneities are promising tools for analysing linked epidemiological, environmental and genetic data.

Genetic analysis of a rabies virus host shift event reveals within-host viral dynamics in a new host.

Host shift events play an important role in epizootics as adaptation to new hosts can profoundly affect the spread of the disease and the measures needed to control it. During the late 1990s, an epizootic in Turkey resulted in a sustained maintenance of rabies virus (RABV) within the fox population. We used Bayesian inferences to investigate whole genome sequences from fox and dog brain tissues from Turkey to demonstrate that the epizootic occurred in 1997 (±1 year).

The lyssavirus host-specificity conundrum-rabies virus-the exception not the rule.

Lyssaviruses are a diverse range of viruses which all cause the disease rabies. Of the 16 recognized species, only rabies viruses (RABV) have multiple host reservoirs. Although lyssaviruses are capable of infecting all mammals, onward transmission in a new host population requires adaptation of the virus, in a number of stages with both host and virus factors determining the outcome.