title: PATHOLOGY AND MOLECULAR DETECTION OF RABIES VIRUS IN FERRET BADGERS ASSOCIATED WITH A RABIES OUTBREAK IN TAIWAN.
abstract: Until Rabies virus (RABV) infection in Taiwan ferret badgers (TWFB; Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) was diagnosed in mid-June 2013, Taiwan had been considered rabies free for >50 yr. Although rabies has also been reported in ferret badgers in China, the pathologic changes and distribution of viral antigens of ferret badger-associated rabies have not been described. We performed a comprehensive pathologic study and molecular detection of rabies virus in three necropsied rabid TWFBs and evaluated archival paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of six other TWFBs necropsied during 2004 and 2012. As in other RABV-infected species, the characteristic pathologic changes in TWFBs were nonsuppurative meningoencephalomyelitis, ganglionitis, and the formation of typical intracytoplasmic Negri bodies, with the brain stem most affected. There was also variable spongiform degeneration, primarily in the perikaryon of neurons and neuropil, in the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and brain stem. In nonnervous system tissues, representative lesions included adrenal necrosis and lymphocytic interstitial sialadenitis. Immunohistochemical staining and fluorescent antibody test demonstrated viral antigens in the perikaryon of the neurons and axonal or dendritic processes throughout the nervous tissue and in the macrophages in various tissues. Similar to raccoons (Procyon lotor) and skunks (Mephitidae), the nervous tissue of rabid TWFBs displayed widely dispersed lesions, RABV antigens, and large numbers of Negri bodies. We traced the earliest rabid TWFB case back to 2004.
authors.affiliation: 1  Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hue-Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.affiliation: 1  Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, Republic of China.|2  Graduate Institute of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chian-Ren
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jeng
authors.affiliation: 3  Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 7, Chung-Shan South Rd., Taipei 10048, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hurng-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 4  Laboratory of Transmission Control of Zoonosis, Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: 5  Endemic Species Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, No. 1, Ming-Shen East Rd., Chichi Township, Nantou 55244, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fang-Tse
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: 6  Graduate Institute of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, No. 250, Kuo-Kuang Rd., Taichung 40227, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiunn-Wang
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: 7  Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No. 1, Shuefu Rd., Neipu Township, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ming-Tang
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.affiliation: 1  Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, Republic of China.|2  Graduate Institute of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei 10617, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Victor Fei
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000662:veterinary; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000821:virology; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D011818:Rabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D009696:Nucleic Acids
keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Melogale moschata subaurantiaca; Taiwan ferret badger; pathology; rabies