Dataset Information

Recent emergence and spread of an Arctic-related phylogenetic lineage of rabies virus in Nepal.

ABSTRACT: Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is endemic in many parts of the developing world, especially in Africa and Asia. However its epidemiology remains largely unappreciated in much of these regions, such as in Nepal, where limited information is available about the spatiotemporal dynamics of the main etiological agent, the rabies virus (RABV). In this study, we describe for the first time the phylogenetic diversity and evolution of RABV circulating in Nepal, as well as their geographical relationships within the broader region. A total of 24 new isolates obtained from Nepal and collected from 2003 to 2011 were full-length sequenced for both the nucleoprotein and the glycoprotein genes, and analysed using neighbour-joining and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic methods with representative viruses from all over the world, including new related RABV strains from neighbouring or more distant countries (Afghanistan, Greenland, Iran, Russia and USA). Despite Nepal's limited land surface and its particular geographical position within the Indian subcontinent, our study revealed the presence of a surprising wide genetic diversity of RABV, with the co-existence of three different phylogenetic groups: an Indian subcontinent clade and two different Arctic-like sub-clades within the Arctic-related clade. This observation suggests at least two independent episodes of rabies introduction from neighbouring countries. In addition, specific phylogenetic and temporal evolution analysis of viruses within the Arctic-related clade has identified a new recently emerged RABV lineage we named as the Arctic-like 3 (AL-3) sub-clade that is already widely spread in Nepal.

SUBMITTER: Pant GR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3836727 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Recent emergence and spread of an Arctic-related phylogenetic lineage of rabies virus in Nepal.

Pant Ganesh R GR Lavenir Rachel R Wong Frank Y K FY Certoma Andrea A Larrous Florence F Bhatta Dwij R DR Bourhy Hervé H Stevens Vittoria V Dacheux Laurent L

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20131121 11

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is endemic in many parts of the developing world, especially in Africa and Asia. However its epidemiology remains largely unappreciated in much of these regions, such as in Nepal, where limited information is available about the spatiotemporal dynamics of the main etiological agent, the rabies virus (RABV). In this study, we describe for the first time the phylogenetic diversity and evolution of RABV circulating in Nepal, as well as their geographical relationsh ...[more]

PMID: 24278494

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Project description:Rabies spreads in both Arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) throughout the Canadian Arctic but limited wildlife disease surveillance, due to the extensive landmass of the Canadian north and its small widely scattered human population, undermines our knowledge of disease transmission patterns. This study has explored genetic population structure in both the rabies virus and its fox hosts to better understand factors that impact rabies spread. Phylogenetic analysis of 278 samples of the Arctic lineage of rabies virus recovered over 40 years identified four sub-lineages, A1 to A4. The A1 lineage has been restricted to southern regions of the Canadian province of Ontario. The A2 lineage, which predominates in Siberia, has also spread to northern Alaska while the A4 lineage was recovered from southern Alaska only. The A3 sub-lineage, which was also found in northern Alaska, has been responsible for virtually all cases across northern Canada and Greenland, where it further differentiated into 18 groups which have systematically evolved from a common predecessor since 1975. In areas of Arctic and red fox sympatry, viral groups appear to circulate in both hosts, but both mitochondrial DNA control region sequences and 9-locus microsatellite genotypes revealed contrasting phylogeographic patterns for the two fox species. Among 157 Arctic foxes, 33 mitochondrial control region haplotypes were identified but little genetic structure differentiating localities was detected. Among 162 red foxes, 18 control region haplotypes delineated three groups which discriminated among the Churchill region of Manitoba, northern Quebec and Labrador populations, and the coastal Labrador locality of Cartwright. Microsatellite analyses demonstrated some genetic heterogeneity among sampling localities of Arctic foxes but no obvious pattern, while two or three clusters of red foxes suggested some admixture between the Churchill and Quebec-Labrador regions but uniqueness of the Cartwright group. The limited population structure of Arctic foxes is consistent with the rapid spread of rabies virus subtypes throughout the north, while red fox population substructure suggests that disease spread in this host moves most readily down certain independent corridors such as the northeastern coast of Canada and the central interior. Interestingly the evidence suggests that these red fox populations have limited capacity to maintain the virus over the long term, but they may contribute to viral persistence in areas of red and Arctic fox sympatry.

Dataset Information

Recent emergence and spread of an Arctic-related phylogenetic lineage of rabies virus in Nepal.

Publications

Recent emergence and spread of an Arctic-related phylogenetic lineage of rabies virus in Nepal.

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