Chen Sixu, Bao Anyu, Aodun Gerile, Zhang Pei, Zhang Lu, Gao Nan, Qiao Honglong, Liu Wenying, Liu Qiang, Zhang Yufei
College of Veterinary Medicine, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China.
Wildlife Conservation Society of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Jun 25;12:1598528. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1598528. eCollection 2025.
Rabies continues to pose a significant global zoonotic threat. In recent years, the increased spillover events of rabies viruses from wildlife to domestic animals have raised public health security concerns, prompting heightened international attention toward rabies management in wildlife populations. Our study reveals the first documented case of a rabies virus (RABV) strain isolated from Eurasian badgers () within Chinese ecosystems. Genetic analysis shows 99.4% nucleotide identity with dominant bovine-associated cosmopolitan lineages, offering robust evidence of interspecies transmission from wildlife reservoirs to domestic livestock. It is noteworthy that due to the special geographical location of this region, the habitat of Eurasian badgers overlaps with the territory of livestock and human settlements, thereby forming a transmission chain of rabies virus such as "fox- Eurasian badger-livestock" or "Eurasian badger-livestock." This critical finding highlights an urgent need for enhanced pathogen surveillance programs in pastoral regions where intensive human-wildlife-livestock interfaces create high-risk transmission zones.
狂犬病仍然是一个重大的全球性人畜共患病威胁。近年来，狂犬病病毒从野生动物向家畜的溢出事件增多，引发了对公共卫生安全的担忧，促使国际社会更加关注野生动物群体中的狂犬病管理。我们的研究揭示了中国生态系统中首例有记录的从欧亚獾分离出的狂犬病病毒（RABV）毒株。基因分析显示，该毒株与占主导地位的牛相关世界性谱系具有99.4%的核苷酸同一性，有力证明了狂犬病病毒从野生动物宿主向家畜的跨物种传播。值得注意的是，由于该地区特殊的地理位置，欧亚獾的栖息地与家畜领地和人类定居点重叠，从而形成了“狐狸 - 欧亚獾 - 家畜”或“欧亚獾 - 家畜”等狂犬病病毒传播链。这一关键发现凸显了在牧区加强病原体监测计划的迫切需求，因为牧区中人类、野生动物和家畜的密集接触形成了高风险传播区域。
