Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Biomed Central  

Background
Vampire bat related rabies harms both livestock industry and public health sector in central Brazil. The geographical distributions of vampire bat-transmitted rabies virus variants are delimited by mountain chains. These findings were elucidated by analyzing a high conserved nucleoprotein gene. This study aims to elucidate the detailed epidemiological characters of vampire bat-transmitted rabies virus by phylogenetic methods based on 619-nt sequence including unconserved G-L intergenic region.

Findings
The vampire bat-transmitted rabies virus isolates divided into 8 phylogenetic lineages in the previous nucleoprotein gene analysis were divided into 10 phylogenetic lineages with significant bootstrap values. The distributions of most variants were reconfirmed to be delimited by mountain chains. Furthermore, variants in undulating areas have narrow distributions and are apparently separated by mountain ridges.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the 619-nt sequence including G-L intergenic region is more useful for a state-level phylogenetic analysis of rabies virus than the partial nucleoprotein gene, and simultaneously that the distribution of vampire bat-transmitted RABV variants tends to be separated not only by mountain chains but also by mountain ridges, thus suggesting that the diversity of vampire bat-transmitted RABV variants was delimited by geographical undulations.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-3-288

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press  

At present, the sporadic occurrence of human rabies in Brazil can be attributed primarily to dog- and vampire bat-related rabies viruses. Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) was employed as a simultaneous detection method for both rabies field variants within 60 min. Vampire bat-related rabies viruses could be distinguished from dog variants by digesting amplicons of the RT-LAMP reaction using the restriction enzyme AlwI. Amplification and digestion could both be completed within 120 min after RNA extraction. In addition, the RT-LAMP assay also detected rabies virus in isolates from Brazilian frugivorous bats and Ugandan dog, bovine and goat samples. In contrast, there were false negative results from several Brazilian insectivorous bats and all of Chinese dog, pig, and bovine samples using the RT-LAMP assay. This study showed that the RT-LAMP assay is effective for the rapid detection of rabies virus isolates from the primary reservoir in Brazil. Further improvements are necessary so that the RT-LAMP assay can be employed for the universal detection of genetic variants of rabies virus in the field.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2010.04.008

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier Science  

African field rabies virus isolates from domestic animals can be phylogenetically divided into three geographic lineages: Africa 1a (North and West Africa); Africa 1b (East and South Africa); Africa 2 (West Africa). Partial nucleotide sequences of the rabies virus nucleoprotein gene (203-nt) were obtained from five dogs and three goats in Uganda. The analyzed Ugandan field rabies viruses were categorized into the Africa 1a and Africa 1b lineages. The present study thus demonstrates that two African lineage-derived rabies viruses coexist in Uganda, which is located in the geographical region between the known Africa 1a and Africa 1b lineage distributions.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2009.10.003

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：AEPress, Ltd  

Phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences or deduced amino acid sequences of phosphoprotein (P protein), matrix (M) protein, and glycoprotein (G protein) genes of 18 Chinese isolates of Rabies virus (RABV) from 2003–2007 showed that these isolates formed a separate monophyletic lineage consisting of sub-lineages A and B. Compared with laboratory-fixed strains, recent Chinese isolates of sub-lineage B contained Val or Ala instead of Met69 in P protein, which is involved in generating truncated P proteins. In addition, one of these isolates CHpg3 had Pro instead of Ser63 and Leu instead of Ser64. Importantly, all functional domains of P and M proteins of all recent Chinese isolates were similar to those of laboratory-fixed strains. This study showed that although the recent Chinese RABV isolates belonged to a distinct lineage, their functional domains of P and M proteins were highly conserved.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.4149/av_2010_02_91

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Kluwer Academic  

The amino acid R or K at position 333 on the glycoprotein of the rabies virus is considered necessary for virulence in adult mice. Although some exceptions exist, substitution at this position causes expression of a phenotype that is either less pathogenic or non-virulent. To date, such substitutions have only been found in fixed strains of rabies virus. In this study, the authors found 333H, 333N, and 333Q substitutions at this position in rabies virus street strains isolated from non-hematophagous bats in Brazil. These strains showed pathogenicity and lethality on passage using adult mice with the intracerebral route and were confirmed rabies-positive by immunofluorescent assay. This suggests that these strains maintain virulence. Our findings indicate that rabies virus street strains with these substitutions exist in the field and may result in infection cycles.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-008-0290-5

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Biomed Central  

Background
Vampire bats are important rabies virus vectors, causing critical problems in both the livestock industry and public health sector in Latin America. In order to assess the epidemiological characteristics of vampire bat-transmitted rabies, the authors conducted phylogenetic and geographical analyses using sequence data of a large number of cattle rabies isolates collected from a wide geographical area in Brazil.

Methods
Partial nucleoprotein genes of rabies viruses isolated from 666 cattle and 18 vampire bats between 1987 and 2006 were sequenced and used for phylogenetic analysis. The genetic variants were plotted on topographical maps of Brazil.

Results
In this study, 593 samples consisting of 24 genetic variants were analyzed. Regional localization of variants was observed, with the distribution of several variants found to be delimited by mountain ranges which served as geographic boundaries. The geographical distributions of vampire-bat and cattle isolates that were classified as the identical phylogenetic group were found to overlap with high certainty. Most of the samples analyzed in this study were isolated from adjacent areas linked by rivers.

Conclusion
This study revealed the existence of several dozen regional variants associated with vampire bats in Brazil, with the distribution patterns of these variants found to be affected by mountain ranges and rivers. These results suggest that epidemiological characteristics of vampire bat-related rabies appear to be associated with the topographical and geographical characteristics of areas where cattle are maintained, and the factors affecting vampire bat ecology.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-4-44

Event date： 2018.10

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：福岡県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2018.8

Language：Japanese  

Venue：鹿児島県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：佐賀県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2018

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：佐賀県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2017.10

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Venue：沖縄県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2017.7

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Venue：鹿児島県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2016.3

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (invited, special)  

Venue：茨城県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2015

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Venue：佐賀県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2014

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Venue：佐賀県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2012

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Venue：北海道   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2008.9

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：宮崎県   Country：Japan  

Event date： 2007.9

Language：Japanese   Presentation type：Oral presentation (general)  

Venue：北海道   Country：Japan