[Review] Comparative pathogenesis of rabies in bats and carnivores, and implications for spillover to humans

Bat-acquired rabies is becoming increasingly common, and its diagnosis could be missed partly because its clinical presentation differs from that of dog-acquired rabies. We reviewed the scientific literature to compare the pathogenesis of rabies in bats and carnivores —including dogs—and related this pathogenesis to differences in the clinical presentation of bat-acquired and dog-acquired rabies in human beings. For bat-acquired rabies, we found that the histological site of exposure is usually limited to the skin, the anatomical site of exposure is more comm only the face, and the virus might be more adapted for entry via the skin than for dog-acquired rabies.

Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases - October 31, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Lineke Begeman, Corine GeurtsvanKessel, Stefan Finke, Conrad M Freuling, Marion Koopmans, Thomas M üller, Tom J H Ruigrok, Thijs Kuiken Tags: Review Source Type: research