Molecular epidemiology identifies only a single rabies virus variant circulating in complex carnivore communities of the Serengeti.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the transmission dynamics of generalist pathogens that infect multiple host species is essential for their effective control. Only by identifying those host populations that are critical to the permanent maintenance of the pathogen, as opposed to populations in which outbreaks are the result of 'spillover' infections, can control measures be appropriately directed. Rabies virus is capable of infecting a wide range of host species, but in many ecosystems, particular variants circulate among only a limited range of potential host populations. The Serengeti ecosystem (in northwestern Tanzania) supports a complex community of wild carnivores that are threatened by generalist pathogens that also circulate in domestic dog populations surrounding the park boundaries. While the combi

SUBMITTER: Lembo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2279181 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature