A molecular epidemiological study of rabies in Puerto Rico

Enzootic Rabies Elimination from Dogs and Reemergence in Wild Terrestrial Carnivores, United States

“…The concept of dog-related lineages spilling into wildlife species with further host shifts was consistent for all phylogentic groups shown as part of CosC (I to VI) (8,10,(21)(22)(23)(24)(31)(32)(33)(34). This tendency was also consistent for other groups outside the CosC, such as group IX (35,36).…”

“…Our fi ndings suggest that independent rabies enzootics are now established in wild terrestrial carnivores (skunks in California and the north-central United States, gray foxes in Texas and Arizona, and mongooses in Puerto Rico), as a consequence of different spillover events from the long-term rabies enzootics associated with dogs (31).…”

“…The latter observations raise questions about the possible coevolution of wild canines and RVs, the role of dog domestication in the dissemination of rabies, and the emergence of rabies enzootics in other wild terrestrial carnivores elsewhere. Nonetheless, independent rabies enzootics that persist in raccoons in the eastern United States and among skunks in the south-central United States and north-central Mexico seem to have their origin in RVs associated with indigenous bats species (8,31).…”

Human Rabies — Puerto Rico, 2015

“…Mongooses were introduced from India to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, during the 19th century to control rat populations in sugarcane fields (4) and have become the principal reservoir of rabies in Puerto Rico, accounting for nearly 75% of all animal rabies cases (5,6). In Puerto Rico, mongoose-associated rabies virus is phylogenetically linked to the North Central skunk and cosmopolitan dog variants (7). Seroprevalence of rabies virus-neutralizing antibodies in the mongoose population is estimated at 40% (8).…”

Rhabdovirus: Rabies

“…Among carnivores, the small Asian mongoose provides one clear example of outbreaks infl uenced by host biology and distribution [ 35 ]. Mongooses were introduced for rodent control onto most of the larger Caribbean Islands, including Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, and Grenada.…”