Biotechnology advances: a perspective on the diagnosis and research of Rabies Virus.

Rabies is a widespread zoonotic disease responsible for approximately 55,000 human deaths/year. The direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) and the mouse inoculation test (MIT) used for rabies diagnosis, have high sensitivity and specificity, but are expensive and time-consuming. These disadvantages and the identification of new strains of the virus encourage the use of new techniques that are rapid, sensitive, specific and economical for the detection and research of the Rabies Virus (RABV). Real-time RT-PCR, phylogeographic analysis, proteomic assays and DNA recombinant technology have been used in research laboratories. Together, these techniques are effective on samples with low virus titers in the study of molecular epidemiology or in the identification of new disease markers, thus improving the performance of biological assays. In this context, modern advances in molecular technology are now beginning to complement more traditional approaches and promise to revolutionize the diagnosis of rabies. This brief review presents some of the recent molecular tools used for RABV analysis, with emphasis on rabies diagnosis and research.

Caracterização molecular do vírus da raiva isolado de Desmodus rotundus capturados no Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Molecular characterization of rabies virus isolated from Desmodus rotundus captured in Rio de Janeiro State

Caracterizou-se filogeneticamente o vírus da raiva, isolado de morcegos hematógafos (Demodus rotundus). Cento e noventa e nove D. rotundus foram capturados em cinco abrigos, no Norte e Noroeste do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e sul do Espírito Santo. Sete deles foram positivos para a raiva. Amostras desses vírus foram sequenciadas e comparadas com sequências provenientes de diversos estados brasileiros. As sequências de vírus da raiva isoladas, na região norte do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, mostraram características que as distinguem de amostras de vírus isoladas em outras regiões do país, no entanto foram idênticas às isoladas de bovinos no noroeste do Rio de Janeiro.

Rabies samples isolated from vampire bats captured in the Rio de Janeiro State were phylogenetically analyzed. One hundred and ninety nine vampire bats were captured from five shelters from North and Northwest of Rio de Janeiro and South of Espírito Santo States. Seven of them were positive for rabies. Theses samples were sequenced and compared with rabies virus sequences from several Brazilian states. The sequences of rabies virus, isolated in the present work, from North of Rio de Janeiro State, showed characteristics that differ of the sequences isolated from bats from other Brazilian regions. However, they were identical to samples isolated from cattle in Northwest of Rio de Janeiro state.