On May 30, 1996, a sick Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) was recovered from the cellar of a public house in Newhaven, East Sussex. Its condition deteriorated rapidly, and it was euthanased and examined. Positive results, establishing the presence of a rabies or rabies-related virus in its brain, were obtained from the fluorescent antibody test, the rabies tissue culture isolation test, and a hemi-nested reverse-transcription PCR. The complete sequence of the nucleoprotein gene was determined and a phylogenetic analysis, based on the 470 nucleotide bases of the amino terminus of the nucleoprotein, established the genotype of the virus as European bat lyssavirus 2. Bat rabies had not previously been recorded in the UK but does occur in mainland Europe. A study of the back-trajectories of the wind on May 29 and 30, established that the infected bat possibly came from near the Franco-Swiss border.

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A rapid and sensitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay incorporating TaqMan probes has been developed that can distinguish among the six established rabies and rabies-related virus genotypes. TaqMan probes were designed and validated against 106 rabies and rabies-related virus isolates, one isolate of the Australian bat Lyssaviruses (genotype 7), and 18 other non-rabies viruses important in the veterinary field. The N gene was used as the target for the probes as it is well conserved and has been intensively used to genotype rabies isolates. Additionally, it was found to contain regions specific to each genotype conducive to probe design. The RT-PCR assay described amplifies a portion of the nucleoprotein gene of all 107 rabies and rabies-related viruses, but none of the other viruses tested. Inclusion of TaqMan-genotype-specific probes in the RT-PCR assay permits rapid identification of the virus present. By combining RT-PCR with TaqMan genotyping probes suspect rabies virus isolates can be identified in a single closed tube system that prevents potential PCR-product carry over contamination.

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