Ottawa Animal Health Laboratory, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON K2J 4S1, Canada.
World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia, New Delhi 110 002, India.
Viruses. 2024 Oct 19;16(10):1635. doi: 10.3390/v16101635.
Human rabies cases today are predominantly associated with infection from rabid domestic dogs. Unlike dogs, a common global reservoir species that perpetuates rabies viruses (RABV) within their populations, domestic cats are much less frequently reported or vaccinated. Epidemiologically, cats are important vectors of lyssaviruses but are not viral reservoirs. Typically, cats are incidental hosts only, infected with the predominant lyssavirus in their geographic locale. Human cases associated with rabid cats have occurred in Africa, Asia, Europe and throughout the Americas. As adept, solitary hunters, wild and domestic felids are at risk of lyssavirus infection based upon interactions with infected prey, such as bats, or from transmission by other mesocarnivores, such as rabid dogs, foxes, jackals, raccoons, and skunks. Current veterinary vaccines provide safe and effective immunity in cats against phylogroup I lyssaviruses, such as RABV, but not against divergent lyssaviruses in phylogroups II-IV. With the focus upon the global elimination of canine rabies, the emergence of rabies in cats represents a concerning trend. Clearly, education about the occurrence of rabies in cats needs to be improved, as well as the routine vaccination of cats to reduce the associated risks to public health, agriculture, and conservation biology from a One Health perspective.
如今，人类狂犬病病例主要与感染狂犬病毒（RABV）的狂犬病家养犬有关。与犬类不同，犬类是一种常见的全球储存物种，在其种群中持续传播狂犬病病毒，而家猫的报告或接种疫苗的频率要低得多。从流行病学角度来看，猫是狂犬病病毒的重要载体，但不是病毒的储存库。通常情况下，猫只是偶然宿主，感染其地理区域内的主要类狂犬病毒。在非洲、亚洲、欧洲和整个美洲都有与狂犬病猫相关的人类病例。作为灵巧、独居的猎手，野生和家养猫科动物由于与受感染的猎物（如蝙蝠）的相互作用，或由于其他中型食肉动物（如狂犬病犬、狐狸、豺狼、浣熊和臭鼬）的传播，有感染类狂犬病毒的风险。目前的兽医疫苗为猫提供了针对 I 组类狂犬病毒（如 RABV）的安全有效的免疫力，但不能针对 II-IV 组中的不同类狂犬病毒。随着全球消除犬狂犬病的重点，猫狂犬病的出现是一个令人担忧的趋势。显然，需要加强对猫狂犬病发生的教育，同时对猫进行常规疫苗接种，以从“同一健康”的角度降低狂犬病对公共卫生、农业和保护生物学的相关风险。
