Rabies

epidemiology

• endemic >150 countries
• 55,000 deaths/year
  • mostly children in Asia and Africa
  • mainly in rural areas
• most endemic in India followed by Bangladesh and China as well as Pakistan

• Latin "rabere" = to rage, to rave
• Sanskrit "rabhas" = to do violence

pathogen

• family Rhabdoviridiae, genus Lyssavirus
  • Rabies lyssavirus
  • Duvenhage lyssavirus
  • European bat lyssavirus
• negative polarity, monostrand RNA virus
• enveloped
• 5 component proteins
  • N, P, M, G, L
  • G (glycoprotein) is ligand to cellular invasion
    • target of vaccine
  • human receptor: nAChR, NCAM, p75NTR - all developed only in nerve cells

responsible animals

• domestic animal - dog, cat in Asia and Africa
• wildlife - bat, fox, raccoon, coyote in Europe and Americas
• Lyssavirus circulates within a same animal species
  • sometimes transmitted to other species - "spillover" phenomenon