Re‐emerging of rabies in Shaanxi province, China, from 2009 to 2015

Objectives To explore the epidemiological, phylogeographic and migration characteristics of human rabies in Shaanxi Province, China from 2009 to 2015. Methods The collected data were described and the sequenced glycoprotein (G) and nucleoprotein (N) genes were implemented to estimate the evolutionary rates and phylogeographic patterns using BEAST v.1.8.2. Results 269 rabies cases were reported and 70.26% of the cases were male and 61.71% were between the ages of 19 to 59. The majority of the cases were farmers (83.27%). The estimated evolutionary rate of the N genes was 2.4 × 10−4substitutions/site/year and the G genes was 3.4 × 10−4. The time of the most recent common ancestor(TMRCA) was estimated around 1990. We detected viral migration paths from Sichuan, Guizhou and Hunan to Hanzhong prefecture of Shaanxi and then spreaded to Xi'an and other prefectures. Conclusions The main population affected by rabies virus was male adult farmers. The evolution rate of rabies viruses in Shaanxi was similar with the prior results reported by others and the ancestor virus should be circulating in neighboring province Sichuan around 1990 and then transmitted to Shaanxi. Promptly standard wound treatment and timely post-exposure prophylaxis should be compulsory for the dog-bitten victims. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved