RHABDO VIRUS

Bullet shaped with SS RNA

Family : Rhabdoviridae
Infects animals, birds, fishes, insects & birds

SS RNA
Protein membrane bilayer

envelope
Rabies Virus
Morphology
Bullet shaped, 180 X 75 nm
One end round/ conical and other planar or concave
Outer lipoprotein envelope spikes
Beneath it protein membrane bi layer invaginated at planar end
Membrane project outward of planar end and form bleb
Core contains helically arranged RNA
Resistance
Sensitive to ethanol, iodine preparations, quartenary ammonium
compounds, lipid solvents ether, chloroform, acetone
Inactivated by phenol, formalin, BPL, UV irradiation & sunlight
Dies at Room Temperature, survive at 4C
Antigenic Properties
Surface spikes glycoprotein induces formation of antibodies
Purified glycoprotein safe & effective subunit vaccine
Induces complement fixing antibodies, Haemagglutination
Nucleocapsid protein - Induces complement fixing antibodies
Two membrane proteins, glycolipid & RNA dependent RNA
polymerase
Host range and Growth Characteristics
1. Animals
Warm blooded animals
Rabies virus from natural human / animal infection street virus on
inoculation fatal encephalitis
Several serial intracerebral passages in rabbits virus changes
Fixed virus more neurotropic
2. Chick embryos
Yolk sac development of attenuated vaccine like Flury & kelev.
Duck eggs high yield of virus preparation of inactivated
vaccines
3. Tissue culture
Virus in primary & continuous cell culture chick embryo
fibroblast, porcine/hamster kidney
Virus yield low
Rabies
Latin word Rabidus Mad
Disease in man characterised by hydrophobia intolerable thirst
incapable to drink
1881 Pasteur inoculated rabies virus in brains of infected animals,
on serial intra cerebral passage fixed virus in series of injection
of graded infectivity rendered immunity.
Vaccine piece of spinal cord (fixed virus) Joseph Meiser 13
inoculation boy survived milestone in medicine development.
Pathogenesis
Man infected by bite of rabid dog (other animals)
Virus present in saliva(animal) deposited in wound
Rarely infection by lick/aerosol
Virus multiply in muscle, connective tissue/ nerves (deposition site)

Penetrates nerve endings

Travels in axoplasm towards spinal cord and brain

Movement passive 3mm/hr

Infection spread centripetally axon to neuronal bodies

Progress to spinal cord

Virus ascends to brain multiplies

Through nerve trunks spreads to various parts of body & salivary

gland
Multiplies in salivary gland shed in saliva

Reaches every tissue of body, cornea, facial skin proximity to brain

Also shed in milk & urine

Incubation period 1-3 months
Course of disease 4 stages
1. Prodorme low grade fever, headache, malaise, fatigue & anorexia
2. Acute neurological phase- hyperactivity, bizarre behaviour,
difficulty in drinking with intense thirst
3. Coma hours to months
4. Death respiratory arrest / other complication
Dogs:
Incubation period 3-6 weeks
2 types
1. Furious dogs run amok, biting without provocation, lower jaw
droops, saliva droops from mouth
Paralysis, convulsion & death
2. Dumb - animal lie huddled, unable to feed, may not bite, attempt
to feed it dangerous, more infectious
Lab diagnosis
1. Demonstration of rabies virus ag by immunofluorescence
Antirabies serum tagged with fluorescein isothiocyanate
Postmortem demonstration of negri bodies in brain
2. Isolation of virus by mouse inoculation
From brain, CSF, Saliva & urine
3.High titre ab in CSF in rabies
Prophylaxis
Before exposure to infection pre exposure immunisation -
veterinarians & dog handlers neural vaccines risk of serious
complication.
Specific prophylaxis after exposure to infection antirabies
treatment
Local treatment - antirabic vaccines & hyperimmune serum.
Local treatment
Wash well with soap and water
Important step soap and water destroy virus effectively
Wound treated with quartenary ammonium compounds (cetaylon),
tincture/ aqueous solution of iodine, alcohol 40-70%.
Severe wound antirabic serum topically applied
Antirabies Vaccines:
Neural: nervous tissue of animals infected with fixed rabies virus
1.Semple vaccine: 5% suspension of sheep brain infected with fixed
virus and inactiated with phenol at 37 C.
2. BPL Vaccine
3. Infant brain vaccine:
Encephalitogenic factor basic protein myelin
Scanty in newborn animals
suckling mouse brain inactivated by UV, BPL/ phenol.
Non neural
1.Egg vaccine: fixed virus in duck egg inactivated by phenil
Poor immunogenicity
2. Live atttenuated chick embryo vaccine
Low egg passage (LEP): 40-50 egg passage for dogs of 3 months/
more, not for higher animals
High Egg Passage (HEP): 180 passage level cattles
Tissue culture vaccines
Human Diploid cell Strains
Purified and concentrated preparation of fixed rabies grown on human
diploid cells and inactivated with phenol & tri-n-butyl phosphate
Widely used purified Chick embryo Cell culture (PCEC)
Vaccine containing BPL inactivated Flury LEP strain
Subunit Vaccine
Glycoproten subunit on virus surface-cloned for recombinant vaccine
Treatment
Supportive care and mangement of complication
Non immunised patient administration of hyper immune serum
Interferon used in treatment
Rabies related Virus
Lagos bat virus, Nigerian horse virus, Mokola virus, Duvenhage
virus, Obodhiang virus, Kotonkan virus, Oulo-fato virus, Bolivar
virus, Czechoslovakian rodent virus.