Chinese ferret badger（FB）-transmitted rabies is a serious threat to public health in southeast China. Although mostly associated with dogs, the rabies virus（RABV） presents genetic diversity and has a significantly...Chinese ferret badger（FB）-transmitted rabies is a serious threat to public health in southeast China. Although mostly associated with dogs, the rabies virus（RABV） presents genetic diversity and has a significantly wide host range in China. Instead of the dog-and wildlife-associated China ⅠI lineage in the past decades, the China Ⅰ lineage has become the main epidemic group hosted and transmitted by dogs. In this study, four new lineages, including 43 RABVs from FBs, have been classified within the dog-dominated China Ⅰ lineage since 2014. FBRABVs have been previously categorized in the China Ⅱ lineage. Moreover, FB-hosted viruses seem to have become the main independent FB-associated clade in the phylogenetic tree. This claim suggests that the increasing genetic diversity of RABVs in FBs is a result of the selective pressure from coexisting dog rabies. FB transmission has become complicated and serious with the coexistence of dog rabies. Therefore, apart from targeting FB rabies, priority should be provided by the appropriate state agencies to perform mass immunization of dog against rabies.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China[2016YFD0500401,2016YFD0501000,2017YFD0502300,and 2017YFD0500600]
文摘Chinese ferret badger（FB）-transmitted rabies is a serious threat to public health in southeast China. Although mostly associated with dogs, the rabies virus（RABV） presents genetic diversity and has a significantly wide host range in China. Instead of the dog-and wildlife-associated China ⅠI lineage in the past decades, the China Ⅰ lineage has become the main epidemic group hosted and transmitted by dogs. In this study, four new lineages, including 43 RABVs from FBs, have been classified within the dog-dominated China Ⅰ lineage since 2014. FBRABVs have been previously categorized in the China Ⅱ lineage. Moreover, FB-hosted viruses seem to have become the main independent FB-associated clade in the phylogenetic tree. This claim suggests that the increasing genetic diversity of RABVs in FBs is a result of the selective pressure from coexisting dog rabies. FB transmission has become complicated and serious with the coexistence of dog rabies. Therefore, apart from targeting FB rabies, priority should be provided by the appropriate state agencies to perform mass immunization of dog against rabies.
