title: Laboratory diagnosis of human rabies: recent advances.
abstract: Rabies, an acute progressive, fatal encephalomyelitis, transmitted most commonly through the bite of a rabid animal, is responsible for an estimated 61,000 human deaths worldwide. The true disease burden and public health impact due to rabies remain underestimated due to lack of sensitive laboratory diagnostic methods. Rapid diagnosis of rabies can help initiate prompt infection control and public health measures, obviate the need for unnecessary treatment/medical tests, and assist in timely administration of pre- or postexposure prophylactic vaccination to family members and medical staff. Antemortem diagnosis of human rabies provides an impetus for clinicians to attempt experimental therapeutic approaches in some patients, especially after the reported survival of a few cases of human rabies. Traditional methods for antemortem and postmortem rabies diagnosis have several limitations. Recent advances in technology have led to the improvement or development of several diagnostic assays which include methods for rabies viral antigen and antibody detection and assays for viral nucleic acid detection and identification of specific biomarkers. These assays which complement traditional methods have the potential to revolutionize rabies diagnosis in future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurovirology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Rabies, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India.
authors.forename: Reeta Subramaniam
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Mani
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurovirology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Rabies, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore 560029, India.
authors.forename: Shampur Narayan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Madhusudana
mesh_terms: D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000639:trends*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000639:trends*; D011818:Rabies / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011820:Rabies virus