Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia
Rabies is a viral zoonosis that is transmissible to humans via domestic and wild animals. There are two epidemiological cycles for rabies, the urban and the sylvatic cycles. In an attempt to study the epidemiological role of wild canidae in rabies transmission, the present study aimed to analyze the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Viruses |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/12/2473 |
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| author | Zied Bouslama Habib Kharmachi Nourhene Basdouri Jihen Ben Salem Samia Ben Maiez Mariem Handous Mohamed Saadi Abdeljalil Ghram Imed Turki |
| author_facet | Zied Bouslama Habib Kharmachi Nourhene Basdouri Jihen Ben Salem Samia Ben Maiez Mariem Handous Mohamed Saadi Abdeljalil Ghram Imed Turki |
| author_sort | Zied Bouslama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rabies is a viral zoonosis that is transmissible to humans via domestic and wild animals. There are two epidemiological cycles for rabies, the urban and the sylvatic cycles. In an attempt to study the epidemiological role of wild canidae in rabies transmission, the present study aimed to analyze the genetic characteristics of virus isolates and confirm prior suggestions that rabies is maintained through a dog reservoir in Tunisia. Virus strains isolated from wild canidae were subject to viral sequencing, and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis was performed using Beast2 software. Essentially, the virus strains isolated from wild canidae belonged to the Africa-1 clade, which clearly diverges from fox-related strains. Our study also demonstrated that genetic characteristics of the virus isolates were not as distinct as could be expected if a wild reservoir had already existed. On the contrary, the geographic landscape is responsible for the genetic diversity of the virus. The landscape itself could have also acted as a natural barrier to the spread of the virus. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:54:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6702618b4760404b9dfec514c216a6de |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:54:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj.art-6702618b4760404b9dfec514c216a6de2023-11-23T10:58:26ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152021-12-011312247310.3390/v13122473Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in TunisiaZied Bouslama0Habib Kharmachi1Nourhene Basdouri2Jihen Ben Salem3Samia Ben Maiez4Mariem Handous5Mohamed Saadi6Abdeljalil Ghram7Imed Turki8Laboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory for Rabies Diagnostics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Belvedere, Tunis 1002, TunisiaLaboratory of Epidemiology and Veterinary Microbiology, LR 16 IPT 03, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis 2092, TunisiaService des Maladies Contagieuses, Ecole Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire-Sidi Thabet, Université Manouba, Sidi Thabet 2020, TunisiaRabies is a viral zoonosis that is transmissible to humans via domestic and wild animals. There are two epidemiological cycles for rabies, the urban and the sylvatic cycles. In an attempt to study the epidemiological role of wild canidae in rabies transmission, the present study aimed to analyze the genetic characteristics of virus isolates and confirm prior suggestions that rabies is maintained through a dog reservoir in Tunisia. Virus strains isolated from wild canidae were subject to viral sequencing, and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis was performed using Beast2 software. Essentially, the virus strains isolated from wild canidae belonged to the Africa-1 clade, which clearly diverges from fox-related strains. Our study also demonstrated that genetic characteristics of the virus isolates were not as distinct as could be expected if a wild reservoir had already existed. On the contrary, the geographic landscape is responsible for the genetic diversity of the virus. The landscape itself could have also acted as a natural barrier to the spread of the virus.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/12/2473rabieswild canidaeTunisiaphylogeny |
| spellingShingle | Zied Bouslama Habib Kharmachi Nourhene Basdouri Jihen Ben Salem Samia Ben Maiez Mariem Handous Mohamed Saadi Abdeljalil Ghram Imed Turki Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia Viruses rabies wild canidae Tunisia phylogeny |
| title | Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia |
| title_full | Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia |
| title_fullStr | Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia |
| title_short | Molecular Epidemiology of Rabies in Wild Canidae in Tunisia |
| title_sort | molecular epidemiology of rabies in wild canidae in tunisia |
| topic | rabies wild canidae Tunisia phylogeny |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/13/12/2473 |
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