title: Recent emergence of the Arctic rabies virus lineage.
abstract: The rabies viruses that circulate in Arctic countries and in much of northern and central Asia are phylogenetically closely related and collectively referred to as the Arctic/Arctic-like (AL) lineage. The emergence and spread of this lineage is of significant interest given that rabies remains a serious zoonotic disease in many parts of Asia, especially in India where the prevalence of dog rabies leads to frequent human exposures and deaths. Previous molecular epidemiological studies of rabies viruses in India identified the AL lineage as the type circulating across much of the country. To further explore the relationship of Indian and Arctic rabies viruses, a collection of samples recovered from Rajasthan state in northern India was characterised at the N gene locus. Combination of these data with a larger collection of samples from India, central/northern Asia and the Arctic has permitted detailed phylogenetic analysis of this viral lineage and estimation of its time-frame of emergence. These analyses suggest that most current Indian viruses emerged from a common progenitor within the last 40 years and that the entire Arctic/AL lineage emerged within the last 200 years, a time-frame in accord with historical records of the invasion of Canada by the Arctic clade.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Expertise for Rabies, Ottawa Laboratory (Fallowfield), Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 3851 Fallowfield Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2J 4S1. Susan.Nadin-Davis@inspection.gc.ca
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nadin-Davis
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sheen
authors.forename: Alexander I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Wandeler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004285:Dogs; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D011818:Rabies / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral; C099601:nucleocapsid protein, Rabies virus