Abstract
Mokola virus (MOKV) appears to be exclusive to Africa. Although the first isolates were from Nigeria and other Congo basin countries, all reports over the past 20 years have been from southern Africa. Previous phylogenetic studies analyzed few isolates or used partial gene sequence for analysis since limited sequence information is available for MOKV and the isolates were distributed among various laboratories. The complete nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, matrix and glycoprotein genes of 18 MOKV isolates in various laboratories were sequenced either using partial or full genome sequencing using pyrosequencing and a phylogenetic analysis was undertaken. The results indicated that MOKV isolates from the Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic and Nigeria clustered according to geographic origin irrespective of the genes used for phylogenetic analysis, similar to that observed with Lagos bat virus. A Bayesian Markov-Chain-Monte-Carlo- (MCMC) analysis revealed the age of the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of MOKV to be between 279 and 2034 years depending on the genes used. Generally, all MOKV isolates showed a similar pattern at the amino acid sites considered influential for viral properties.
Highlights
The lyssavirus genus consists of twelve species recognized by ICTV [1] of which five [(Rabies virus (RABV), Lagos bat virus (LBV), Mokola virus (MOKV), Duvenhage virus (DUVV), and Shimoni bat virus (SHIBV)] have been isolated in Africa [2]
The complete nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, matrix, and glycoprotein genes of all Mokola viruses isolated to date were sequenced in various rabies laboratories across the world
More evidence that RABV derived vaccines do not protect against MOKV infection is shown by circumstantial evidence of the fatal infections of numerous domestic animals that had been vaccinated against RABV [13,18,19,20,21]. Given this scenario and the apparent obscurity of MOKV, we argue that much more information is needed to improve our scant understanding of the epidemiology, disease dynamics and the ecology of this virus
Summary
The lyssavirus genus consists of twelve species recognized by ICTV [1] of which five [(Rabies virus (RABV), Lagos bat virus (LBV), Mokola virus (MOKV), Duvenhage virus (DUVV), and Shimoni bat virus (SHIBV)] have been isolated in Africa [2]. LBV, MOKV, DUVV and SHIBV occur exclusively in Africa. SHIBV was recently isolated from Hipposideros vittatus (formerly known as H. commersoni) [3]. Another proposed lyssavirus species is Ikoma lyssavirus (IKOV) isolated from an African civet in Tanzania [4]. The first isolations of MOKV were made in 1968 and 1969 from organ pools of shrews (Crocidura flavescens manni) in Ibadan, Nigeria [5,6,7]. The only isolation from a rodent (Lophuromys sikapusi) was in 1981, from Bangui, Central African
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
