title: The phylogeography of rabies in Grenada, West Indies, and implications for control.
abstract: In Grenada, West Indies, rabies is endemic, and is thought to be maintained in a wildlife host, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) with occasional spillover into other hosts. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to improve understanding of rabies epidemiology in Grenada and to inform rabies control policy. Mongooses were trapped island-wide between April 2011 and March 2013 and examined for the presence of Rabies virus (RABV) antigen using the direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT) and PCR, and for serum neutralizing antibodies (SNA) using the fluorescent antibody virus neutralization test (FAVN). An additional cohort of brain samples from clinical rabies suspects submitted between April 2011 and March 2014 were also investigated for the presence of virus. Two of the 171 (1.7%) live-trapped mongooses were RABV positive by FAT and PCR, and 20 (11.7%) had SNAs. Rabies was diagnosed in 31 of the submitted animals with suspicious clinical signs: 16 mongooses, 12 dogs, 2 cats and 1 goat. Our investigation has revealed that rabies infection spread from the northeast to the southwest of Grenada within the study period. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the viruses from Grenada formed a monophyletic clade within the cosmopolitan lineage with a common ancestor predicted to have occurred recently (6-23 years ago), and are distinct from those found in Cuba and Puerto Rico, where mongoose rabies is also endemic. These data suggest that it is likely that this specific strain of RABV was imported from European regions rather than the Americas. These data contribute essential information for any potential rabies control program in Grenada and demonstrate the importance of a sound evidence base for planning interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zieger
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Denise A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Marston
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Ravindra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chikweto
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Keshaw
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Muzzamil
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sayyid
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture, St. George's, Grenada.
authors.forename: Bowen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Louison
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hooman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goharriz
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Voller
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom; School of Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Breed
authors.affiliation: Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hatfield, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Werling
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom; Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anthony R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fooks
authors.affiliation: Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom; School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guilford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Horton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D002415:Cats; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D003462:Cuba / Q000453:epidemiology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary*; D004285:Dogs; D006041:Goats / Q000821:virology; D019425:Grenada / Q000453:epidemiology; D008988:Herpestidae / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D011819:Rabies Vaccines; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D011819:Rabies Vaccines