Abstract
Rabies was firstly recorded in Oman in August 1990, when a school boy had been bitten by a fox. Within a year, then the virus was recorded among red foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>). Unlike other developing countries, dog is not the usual agent of rabies transmission in Oman but fox considered the main reservoir (sylvatic transmission). The present study was Carried out to determine the molecular epidemiology of fox rabies virus in Oman. The nucleoprotein (N) genes were amplified from brain of three rabid foxes obtained during (2009-2012). The nucleotide sequences of the genes were subjected to molecular and phylogenic analysis. The phylogenic analysis was performed in relation to Omani foxes isolates and other sequences from the Saudi Arabia (isolated in 1987) available in the GenBank. Results indicated that only one genetic group of fox rabies virus appeared to be circulating in Oman since 1990. The study also showed that the recent isolate (2012) of Omani rabies virus from foxes is closely related (97%) to those viruses isolated from foxes in Saudi Arabia. According to the obtained results, It is clear that since its first diagnosis in 1990 the rabies fox virus has not gone through significant virus variant in Oman, It seems that rabies is maintained endemically in Oman through wild foxes. In conclusion the findings reported here highlight the remarkable genetic stability of rabies virus.
Highlights
Rabies virus has a single, negative-stranded RNA genome and consists of five structural proteins {nucleoprotein (N), matrix protein (M), glycoprotein (G), polymerase protein (L) and nucleocapsid-associated phosphoprotein (P)} [20, 22, 25]
During the period of this study (11) suspected brain samples from foxes were submitted to the virology research center of AHRC in Oman
The phylogenic analysis was performed in relation to Omani isolates and other sequences from Saudi Arabia, grouped in one cluster (Figure 1)
Summary
Rabies virus has a single, negative-stranded RNA genome and consists of five structural proteins {nucleoprotein (N), matrix protein (M), glycoprotein (G), polymerase protein (L) and nucleocapsid-associated phosphoprotein (P)} [20, 22, 25]. Two human positive cases were reported in 1983 and 1984, in Asian expatriate workers exposed to dog in their home countries, who died in Oman [2]. Unlike other developing countries dog is not central to rabies transmission in Oman; fox considered the main reservoir (sylvatic transmission) of rabies [2, 10, 12, 14, 15, 19]. Fox (Vulpes vulpes) bites have been found associated with human and animal rabies in Oman since the first record in 1990 as 66% (99/150) of foxes were found positive for rabies [2]. In a retrospective study (1990-2000) in Oman it was found that fox rabies constituted 85% (182/215) of the total rabies positive samples and 67% (182/272) of cases submitted from foxes were confirmed. ; determining the genotype of circulating fox rabies virus in Mohammad Hassan Body et al.: Molecular Characterization of Rabies Virus from Foxes in the Sultanate of Oman
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