Rabies  - epidemiology, pathogenesis, public health concerns and advances in diagnosis and control: a comprehensive review.

Rabies - epidemiology, pathogenesis, public health concerns and advances in diagnosis and control: a comprehensive review. Vet Q. 2017 Dec;37(1):212-251 Authors: Singh R, Singh KP, Cherian S, Saminathan M, Kapoor S, Manjunatha Reddy GB, Panda S, Dhama K Abstract Rabies is a zoonotic, fatal and progressive neurological infection caused by rabies virus of the genus Lyssavirus and family Rhabdoviridae. It affects all warm-blooded animals and the disease is prevalent throughout the world and endemic in many countries except in Islands like Australia and Antarctica. Over 60,000 peoples die every year due to rabies, while approximately 15 million people receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) annually. Bite of rabid animals and saliva of infected host are mainly responsible for transmission and wildlife like raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes are main reservoirs for rabies. The incubation period is highly variable from 2 weeks to 6 years (avg. 2-3 months). Though severe neurologic signs and fatal outcome, neuropathological lesions are relatively mild. Rabies virus exploits various mechanisms to evade the host immune responses. Being a major zoonosis, precise and rapid diagnosis is important for early treatment and effective prevention and control measures. Traditional rapid Seller's staining and histopathological methods are still in use for diagnosis of rabies. Direct immunofluoroscent test (dFAT) is gold standard test and most com...
Source: Veterinary Quarterly - Category: Veterinary Research Tags: Vet Q Source Type: research