Mokola virus

Mokola virus (MOKV) is a RNA virus related to rabies virus that has been sporadically isolated from mammals across sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of isolates have come from domestic cats exhibiting symptoms characteristically associated to rabies virus infection. There have been two reported cases of humans being infected with Mokola virus. Mokola virus (MOKV) is a member of the genus Lyssavirus, which belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae. MOKV is one of four lyssaviruses found in Africa. The other three viruses are the classic rabies virus, Duvenhage virus and Lagos bat virus. MOKV was first isolated in Nigeria, in 1968, from three shrews (Crocidura species) found in the Mokola forest, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The virus was shown to be morphologically and serologically related to rabies virus. Since the initial isolation of MOKV, the virus has been mainly isolated in domestic cats and small mammals in sub-Saharan Africa. There have been two recorded cases of human infection with MOKV, with both instances occurring in Nigeria. Both cases involved young Nigerian females. The first patient, who had been suffering from a fever and convulsions, recovered fully from infection. The second case, which occurred in 1972, involved a 6-year-old girl who had been suffering from drowsiness. The second patient ultimately suffered from paralysis and a terminal coma as a result of the MOKV infection. The origin of the MOKV in both human cases of MOKV infection remains unidentified. The MOKV genome consists of a non-segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA molecule of 11,939 nucleotides in length. It is estimated that 90.3% of the MOKV genome consists of protein-encoding or signal-encoding sequences. The genome encodes five proteins: matrix protein M; transmembrane glycoprotein G; nucleoprotein N; phosphoprotein P; and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase L.