title: Government Response to the Discovery of a Rabies Virus Reservoir Species on a Previously Designated Rabies-Free Island, Taiwan, 1999-2014.
abstract: Taiwan had been considered rabies free since 1961. In 2013, Taiwan confirmed the detection of rabies virus in wild Taiwan ferret-badgers. Up to December 2014, there have been 423 rabies-confirmed ferret-badgers and three cases of spillover infection into non-reservoir hosts. Genetic analysis indicates that TFBV is distinct from all other known rabies virus variants. To date, ferret-badger rabies is known to occur only in China and Taiwan. The temporal dynamics of rabid ferret-badgers in Taiwan suggests that the epizootic appears to have subsided to enzootic levels as of December 2014. According to the current epidemiologic data, there is only one TFBV strain in Taiwan. TFBV is still sequestered to the mountainous regions. Humans are at risk mainly through exposure to the virus from infected domestic meso-carnivores, mainly dogs and cats. Dogs and cats should be vaccinated to establish an immunological barrier to stop the spread of the disease from mountainous regions to domestic meso-carnivores.
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Council of Agriculture, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: S-S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: F-Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: T-S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Industry, Council of Agriculture, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: K-C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Endemic Species Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: K-Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Fei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002415:Cats; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000821:virology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011635:Public Health Administration; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D011819:Rabies Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D011819:Rabies Vaccines
keywords: Public health; dog; epidemiology; infectious disease; rabies; risk assessment