University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19(9):1463-69. doi: 10.3201/eid1809.130083.
During the past decade, incidence of human infection with rabies virus (RABV) spread by the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) increased considerably in South America, especially in remote areas of the Amazon rainforest, where these bats commonly feed on humans. To better understand the epizootiology of rabies associated with vampire bats, we used complete sequences of the nucleoprotein gene to infer phylogenetic relationships among 157 RABV isolates collected from humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, including bats, in Peru during 2002-2007. This analysis revealed distinct geographic structuring that indicates that RABVs spread gradually and involve different vampire bat subpopulations with different transmission cycles. Three putative new RABV lineages were found in 3 non-vampire bat species that may represent new virus reservoirs. Detection of novel RABV variants and accurate identification of reservoir hosts are critically important for the prevention and control of potential virus transmission, especially to humans.
在过去的十年中，在南美的人类感染狂犬病病毒（RABV）的病例显著增加，特别是在亚马逊雨林的偏远地区，这些蝙蝠通常以人类为食。为了更好地了解与吸血蝙蝠相关的狂犬病的流行病学，我们使用核蛋白基因的完整序列推断了 2002-2007 年期间从秘鲁人类、家畜和野生动物（包括蝙蝠）中收集的 157 株 RABV 分离株的系统进化关系。这项分析显示了明显的地理结构，表明 RABV 是逐渐传播的，涉及具有不同传播周期的不同吸血蝙蝠亚群。在 3 种非吸血蝙蝠物种中发现了 3 种可能的新型 RABV 谱系，这可能代表了新的病毒储存库。检测新型 RABV 变体和准确鉴定储存宿主对于预防和控制潜在的病毒传播至关重要，尤其是对人类而言。
