Abstract
There are at least six Lyssavirus species that have been isolated in Africa, which include classical rabies virus, Lagos bat virus, Mokola virus, Duvenhage virus, Shimoni bat virus and Ikoma lyssavirus. In this retrospective study, an analysis of the antigenic reactivity patterns of lyssaviruses in South Africa against a panel of 15 anti-nucleoprotein monoclonal antibodies was undertaken. A total of 624 brain specimens, collected between 2005 and 2009, confirmed as containing lyssavirus antigen by direct fluorescent antibody test, were subjected to antigenic differentiation. The lyssaviruses were differentiated into two species, namely rabies virus (99.5%) and Mokola virus (0.5%). Furthermore, rabies virus was further delineated into two common rabies biotypes in South Africa: canid and mongoose. Initially, it was found that the canid rabies biotype had two reactivity patterns; differential staining was observed with just one monoclonal antibody. This difference was likely to have been an artefact related to sample quality, as passage in cell culture restored staining. Mongoose rabies viruses were more heterogeneous, with seven antigenic reactivity patterns detected. Although Mokola viruses were identified in this study, prevalence and reservoir host species are yet to be established. These data demonstrate the usefulness of monoclonal antibody typing panels in lyssavirus surveillance with reference to emergence of new species or spread of rabies biotypes to new geographic zones.
Highlights
Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by lyssaviruses that are capable of infecting all mammalian species
All the samples were confirmed to be positive for lyssavirus antigen by direct fluorescent antibody test using fluorescently labelled goat antiserum raised against purified rabies virus (RABV) and Mokola virus (MOKV) ribonucleoproteins (Dean, Abelseth & Atanasiu 1996)
Of the 624 samples included for analysis, 99.5% (621) had staining patterns consistent with those established for RABV, and 0.5% (3) had patterns consistent with that of MOKV
Summary
Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease caused by lyssaviruses that are capable of infecting all mammalian species. The Lyssavirus genus consists of 14 recognised viral species based on serological assays, genetic distances of the nucleoprotein gene, topology and consistency of the phylogenetic trees, antigenic patterns in reaction with anti-nucleocapsid monoclonal antibodies and/or other additional characters such as ecological properties, host and geographic range and pathological features (Dietzgen et al 2011; ICTV 2014). These includes classical rabies virus (RABV) and the other viral species are referred to as rabies-related viruses. In South Africa, rabies still remains a significant public and veterinary health threat, as the disease is well maintained by various host species
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