Emerging Pattern of Rabies Deaths and Increased Viral Infectivity
Open Access
- 1 February 2003
- journal article
- Published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 9 (2) , 151-154
- https://doi.org/10.3201/eid0902.020083
Abstract
Most human rabies deaths in the United States can be attributed to unrecognized exposures to rabies viruses associated with bats, particularly those associated with two infrequently encountered bat species (Lasionycteris noctivagans and Pipistrellus subflavus). These human rabies cases tend to cluster in the southeastern and northwestern United States. In these regions, most rabies deaths associated with bats in nonhuman terrestrial mammals are also associated with virus variants specific to these two bat species rather than more common bat species; outside of these regions, more common bat rabies viruses contribute to most transmissions. The preponderance of rabies deaths connected with the two uncommon L. noctivagans and P. subflavus bat rabies viruses is best explained by their evolution of increased viral infectivity.Keywords
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