TY - JOUR AU - Chiou, Hue-Ying AU - Hsieh, Chia-Hung AU - Jeng, Chian-Ren AU - Chan, Fang-Tse AU - Wang, Hurng-Yi AU - Pang, Victor Fei T1 - Molecular Characterization of Cryptically Circulating Rabies Virus from Ferret Badgers, Taiwan T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2014 VL - 20 IS - 5 SP - 790 SN - 1080-6059 AB - After the last reported cases of rabies in a human in 1959 and a nonhuman animal in 1961, Taiwan was considered free from rabies. However, during 2012–2013, an outbreak occurred among ferret badgers in Taiwan. To examine the origin of this virus strain, we sequenced 3 complete genomes and acquired multiple rabies virus (RABV) nucleoprotein and glycoprotein sequences. Phylogeographic analyses demonstrated that the RABV affecting the Taiwan ferret badgers (RABV-TWFB) is a distinct lineage within the group of lineages from Asia and that it has been differentiated from its closest lineages, China I (including isolates from Chinese ferret badgers) and the Philippines, 158–210 years ago. The most recent common ancestor of RABV-TWFB originated 91–113 years ago. Our findings indicate that RABV could be cryptically circulating in the environment. An understanding of the underlying mechanism might shed light on the complex interaction between RABV and its host. KW - Rabies KW - Melogale moschata subaurantiaca KW - phylogeography KW - origin KW - Taiwan KW - ferret badger KW - viruses DO - 10.3201/eid2005.131389 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/5/13-1389_article ER - End of Reference