title: Evidence of two distinct phylogenetic lineages of dog rabies virus circulating in Cambodia.
abstract: This first extensive retrospective study of the molecular epidemiology of dog rabies in Cambodia included 149 rabies virus (RABV) entire nucleoprotein sequences obtained from 1998-2011. The sequences were analyzed in conjunction with RABVs from other Asian countries. Phylogenetic reconstruction confirmed the South-East Asian phylogenetic clade comprising viruses from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. The present study represents the first attempt to classify the phylogenetic lineages inside this clade, resulting in the confirmation that all the Cambodian viruses belonged to the South-East Asian (SEA) clade. Three distinct phylogenetic lineages in the region were established with the majority of viruses from Cambodia closely related to viruses from Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, forming the geographically widespread phylogenetic lineage SEA1. A South-East Asian lineage SEA2 comprised two viruses from Cambodia was identified, which shared a common ancestor with RABVs originating from Laos. Viruses from Myanmar formed separate phylogenetic lineages within the major SEA clade. Bayesian molecular clock analysis suggested that the time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of all Cambodian RABVs dated to around 1950. The TMRCA of the Cambodian SEA1 lineage was around 1964 and that of the SEA2 lineage was around 1953. The results identified three phylogenetically distinct and geographically separated lineages inside the earlier identified major SEA clade, covering at least five countries in the region. A greater understanding of the molecular epidemiology of rabies in South-East Asia is an important step to monitor progress on the efforts to control canine rabies in the region.
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Channa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mey
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Artem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Metlin
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Veasna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Duong
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Sivuth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.affiliation: Rabies Prevention Center, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Sotheary
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: In
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Horwood
authors.affiliation: Unité de Biologie des Infections Virales Emergentes, Institut Pasteur, Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Reynes
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Unit Lyssavirus Dynamics and Host Adaptation, WHO Collaborative Centre for Reference and Research on Rabies, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bourhy
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Public Health Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tarantola
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur in Cambodia, Cambodia; GlaxoSmithKline, Vaccines R&D, 150 Beach Road, Singapore. Electronic address: buchyphilippe@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buchy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D004285:Dogs; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D062306:Geography, Medical; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011818:Rabies / Q000662:veterinary*; 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
keywords: Cambodia; Canine rabies; Rabies epidemiology; Rabies virus evolution; South-East Asia