Recent Research - September 2014

 

Here we aim to list recent research papers most relevant to GARC’s mission.

 

 

 

Human rabies treatment

Antiviral therapy for human rabies.
A review of past strategies of antiviral therapy, current understanding and potential new approaches. Antiviral therapy, immunotherapy and neuroprotective therapy should all be strongly considered.

 

Human and economic burden

Factors influencing the number of rabies cases in children in China.
Rabies cases in children accounted for 21.3% of cases in China, with 97.0% in rural areas, mainly caused by dogs (81.5%), and mostly level III exposures (47.7%). Over 50% were not treated with wound care, vaccination rate was extremely low (15.7%), only 5.9% of cases were injected with antibodies, and 25.4% of cases adopted incorrect treatments.

Bovine rabies in Turkey: patterns of infection and implications for costs and control.
The incidence of rabies in livestock is an important factor for estimating the economic impact of the disease, but obtaining reliable data is hindered by inadequate surveillance. Livestock losses were conservatively estimated at around $250,000 international dollars per annum, although in areas where compensation schemes are not operating this could be an underestimate of the economic burden.

 

Historical

Inner Workings: 1885, the first rabies vaccination in humans.
An account of Pasteur’s pioneering work, including images of his handwritten notes.

 

Diagnostics

Diagnosis and molecular typing of rabies virus in samples stored in inadequate conditions.
RT-PCR can be useful for rabies diagnosis and typing of putrefying samples or rabies isolates stored in inadequate conditions.

Evaluation of a rapid immunodiagnostic rabies field surveillance test on samples collected from military operations in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
The Anigen Rapid Rabies Antigen Test Kit (Bionote, Inc, Hwaseong, Korea) was evaluated using 80 clinical samples, and showed an overall sensitivity of 96.9% and specificity of 100% when compared to the direct fluorescent antibody test. The test is a quick, inexpensive, and easy to use surveillance tool.

Effects of carcase decomposition on rabies virus infectivity and detection.
Positive diagnostic results from decomposed samples are reliable but negative results may be invalid. These findings suggest the persistence of infectious rabies virus in carcases left for 18 days at cold temperatures (4°C) and up to 3 days in temperatures reaching 35°C and supports the use of molecular assays to accompany OIE-prescribed rabies diagnostic tests.

 

Viral Genomics

Molecular epidemiology of reemergent rabies in yunnan province, southwestern china.
Fifty two rabies virus strains were analyzed phylogenetically. Diversity might be attributed to dog movements among counties, provinces, and neighboring countries, suggesting that Yunnan Province is a focal point for spread of rabies between Southeast Asia and China.
 

Travel and Trade

Prevention and control of rabies in an age of global travel: a review of travel- and trade-associated rabies events--United States, 1986-2012.
Review of how increased international travel and trade can pose risks for rapid, long-distance movements of ill or infected persons or animals. Such travel and trade can result in human exposures to rabies virus during travel or transit and could contribute to the re-introduction of canine rabies variant or transmission of other viral variants among animal host populations.

 

Oral Vaccination

Twenty year experience of the oral rabies vaccine SAG2 in wildlife: a global review.
The excellent tolerance of the SAG2 vaccine has been confirmed in the field since its first use in 1993. No safety issues have been reported, and in particular no vaccine-induced rabies cases were diagnosed, after the distribution of more than 20 million SAG2 baits in Europe.

First trials of oral vaccination with rabies SAG2 dog baits in Morocco.
Baits have a good palatability and that oral vaccination of both owned and stray dogs is feasible with baits specifically developed for dogs and with an adapted strategy of distribution.