Evolutionary history of dog rabies in Brazil

• Published in: Journal of general virology 2011-01, Vol.92 (Pt 1), p.85-90
• Main Authors: KOBAYASHI, Yuki, SUZUKI, Yoshiyuki, ITOU, Takuya, ITO, Fumio H, SAKAI, Takeo, GOJOBORI, Takashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil - epidemiology; Cluster Analysis; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - history; Dog Diseases - virology; Dogs; Evolution, Molecular; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotype; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Polymorphism, Genetic; Rabies - epidemiology; Rabies - history; Rabies - veterinary; Rabies - virology; Rabies virus; Rabies virus - classification; Rabies virus - genetics; Rabies virus - isolation & purification; RNA, Viral - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.026468-0

Although dogs are considered to be the principal transmitter of rabies in Brazil, dog rabies had never been recorded in South America before European colonization. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of dog rabies virus (RABV) in Brazil, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of carnivore RABV isolates from around the world and estimated the divergence times for dog RABV in Brazil. Our estimate for the time of introduction of dog RABV into Brazil was the late-19th to early-20th century, which was later than the colonization period but corresponded to a period of increased immigration from Europe to Brazil. In addition, dog RABVs appeared to have spread to indigenous animals in Brazil during the latter half of the 20th century, when the development and urbanization of Brazil occurred. These results suggest that the movement of rabid dogs, along with human activities since the 19th century, promoted the introduction and expansion of dog RABV in Brazil.