Genotypic and phenotypic diversity of rabies virus variants involved in human rabies: implications for postexposure prophylaxis

Abstract

Objectives: Rabies virus variants associated with silver-haired bats (SHBRV) are responsible for most recent human rabies cases in the United States, which are not associated with a history of exposure. We compared their genotype and phenotype with those of dog rabies virus (DRV) variants, the classic cause of rabies in humans, to determine whether differences in these strains might have ramifications for therapeutic intervention, particularly vaccination.

Methods: Eleven silver-haired bat and 8 dog rabies virus isolates were characterized by sequencing the glycoprotein gene, by assessing their ability to replicate in neuronal versus nonneuronal cultures at optimal and suboptimal temperatures, by assessing their pathogenicity in mice, and by determining the resistance of these viruses to therapeutic immunization with commercial vaccines.

Results: SHBRV isolates were less genetically diverse, less neuronal cell specific, more temperature sensitive, but as pathogenic, on average, as DRV isolates. Immune protection was equivalent for SHBRV and DRV strains of similar pathogenicity.

Conclusions: SHBRV strains have unique characteristics that may explain their exceptional association with human rabies but have little bearing on their lethality in mice. The pathogenicity of a particular virus, rather than its antigenic makeup, determines the outcome of immunization.