Abstract
Despite a long history of dog-transmitted human rabies outbreaks in Liberia, West Africa, no reports exist of molecular characterisation of the causative lyssaviruses. This study investigated Rabies lyssavirus (RABV) strains isolated at the dog-human interface in Monrovia, Liberia 2016 and 2017, by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, using primers specific for the nucleoprotein (N) gene. Out of 20 specimens (19 dog brain samples and one human saliva) tested as suspected rabies cases, three (15%) were positive. Purified amplicons from all three positive specimens were sequenced in both forward and reverse directions. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted in MEGA7 and PhyML3 to determine their relationship with RABV sequences accessioned in NCBI GenBank. The first of three RABV strains detected clustered with China lineage 2 RABVs of dogs (99% homology to KU963489 and DQ666322). The second strain segregated with Africa lineage 2 RABVs also of dog origin, and the third strain segregated with Africa lineage 3 RABVs of Southern Africa viverrids. Our results show a transcontinental strain of rabies virus co-circulating with Africa lineages in post-conflict Liberia. This finding should stimulate more effective sub-regional planning and execution of one-health actions, towards stepwise surveillance and elimination of rabies in West Africa by 2030.
Highlights
The goal of improving human–animal disease surveillance in West Africa remains an active concept note towards stepwise elimination of rabies in Africa by 2030 [1]
The second Rabies lyssavirus (RABV) sequence obtained in Monrovia MH507336 clustered with Africa lineage 2 RABVs from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Egypt, while the third RABV sequence MH507337 clustered with Africa lineage 3 RABVs AF467949 and JX088732 (Fig. 4)
This study was aimed at detecting and characterizing RABV strains circulating in Monrovia city and environs in Liberia, West Africa, 2016–2017, by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of archived brain
Summary
The goal of improving human–animal disease surveillance in West Africa remains an active concept note towards stepwise elimination of rabies in Africa by 2030 [1]. It has been more than seven decades since the first medical report of clinical diagnosis of rabies in dog bite victims (DBVs) in Liberia [2], the disease remains a neglected public health challenge associated with acute, progressive and highly fatal viral encephalomyelitis of warmblooded animals (especially dogs) and humans [3, 4]. With the emergence of Rabies in West Africa (RIWA) forum [6], there has been an increase in scientific studies and reports on rabies at the human–animal interface at various locations in Liberia, including Lofa County in the north, Bong County in the north-central and Grand Bassa County in the west-central region of the country [3], and in Montserrado County, home to Monrovia the political capital of the country in the northwest region [4]
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