Rapid
diagnosis of
rabies in suspected
human cases influences
post-exposure prophylaxis for potential contacts of the
patient and ensures appropriate
patient management. Apart from the
central nervous system (CNS),
rabies virus (RABV) is usually present in small sensory nerves adjacent to
hair follicles of infected
humans. We used an RT-PCR, with primers targeted to the 3' terminal portion of the
nucleoprotein gene (N), to test
neck-
skin samples of nine
patients who had
rabies in order to validate a diagnostic
method that could serve as an additional tool for
rabies diagnosis, particularly in antemortem samples. Six of eight postmortem samples were found to be positive for
rabies by RT-PCR, and one of two samples collected antemortem was positive with this same
technique. Results were confirmed by
DNA sequencing; this validates RT-PCR and
neck-
skin as a suitable
technique and type of sample, respectively, for use in the
diagnosis of
human rabies. RT-PCR applied to
neck-
skin biopsies could allow
early diagnosis and
lead to more effective
rabies treatment.