Resurgence of rabies in Hungary during 2013-2014: An attempt to track the origin of identified strains
2018
In 2013–2014, accumulation of rabies episodes raised concerns regarding ongoing
elimination programme in Hungary. Nearly four dozen cases were identified over a
13-month period in the central region of the country far behind the immunization
zones. Although the outbreak was successfully controlled, the origin of disease
remained unknown. In this study, we sequenced the partial N and G genes from 47
Hungarian rabies virus (RV) strains isolated from the 2013–2014 outbreak. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the N and G genes showed that the Hungarian RV
isolates share high nucleotide similarity among each other (up to 100%). When analysing the N gene, comparable sequence similarity was seen between the outbreak
strains and some historic Romanian RV strains. Unfortunately, in the lack of available sequence data from the Romanian RV strains, the genetic relationship within
the G gene could not be determined. Phylogenetic analysis of Hungarian RV isolates
detected in the past revealed that multiple independent RV lineages circulated in
our country over the past 25 years. The parental strain of the 2013–2014 outbreak
may have been imported independently perhaps from east through transborder
movement of a reservoir animal. Next to the introduction, this imported RV strain
seems to have spread clonally in the affected area. Our findings indicate that
despite effective control measures that, overall, minimized the incidence of rabies
over the past decade, field and laboratory monitoring needs to be continued to
make rabies elimination programme in Hungary successful.
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