Phylogeography explains spatiotemporal evolution of canine rabies in Tunisia
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1
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Rabies, Tunisia
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2
University of California, Davis, Center of animal disease modeling and surveillance, United States
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3
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of transmission control and immunobiology of infections, Tunisia
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4
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of transmission, control and immunobiology of infections, Tunisia
In Tunisia, rabies is still a threat to human lives (WHO,2018). A rapid increase in rabies incidence in both humans and animals was observed especially between 2012 and 2016 (Ripani et al, 2017). These cases have also been observed in unusual regions in Tunisia. The aim of this study is to look at the spatiotemporal evolution of canine rabies between 2011 and 2016 using both epidemiological and molecular tools. Rabid dogs geographic locations and timelines were extracted from animal cases reports at the Institut Pasteur of Tunis. These were integrated into a spatio-temporal model to identify potential clusters. A subset of 30 Viral isolates from the identified clusters was then sampled from the Pasteur rabies biobank. Rabies genome was amplified and Bayesian phylogeny was carried using a migration model. Finally a Maximum Clade Credibility tree was geographically mapped. Multiple non overlapping spatio-temporal clusters were identified, particularly in the north and central regions. Sequencing of the viral genomic amplicons proved that all strains belong to the RABV specie, from the Lyssavirus genus; and thus confirming the reservoir role of dogs in rabies transmission. Phylogenetic clusters were geographically distinct. Phylogeographic analysis showed that rabies increase was linked to geographical expansion of the variant strains. Our findings provide valuable information for decision makers to provide targeted rabies preventive strategies.
Acknowledgements
This work has been performed in the framework of the Tunisian Project “Phylogeography of rabies in Tunisia”, financed by the Programme “Programme Collaboratif Interne” (PCI).
References
- Ripani, A., Merot, J., Bouguedour, R., & Zrelli, M. (2017). Review of rabies situation and control in the North African region with a focus on Tunisia. Revue Scientifique Et Technique-Office International Des Epizooties, 36(3), 831-838.
- WHO, 2018 : https://www.who.int/rabies/epidemiology/en/
Keywords:
Rabies,
Spatio-Temporal Analysis,
phylogeny,
Phylogeography,
Tunisia,
SaTScan,
BEAST 2
Conference:
GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data, Davis, United States, 8 Oct - 10 Oct, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Student oral presentation
Topic:
Spatio-temporal phylogenetic approaches, phylogeography and phylodynamics
Citation:
BOUSLAMA
Z,
Belkhiria
JA,
Guerfali
FZ,
Ghouila
A and
Kharmachi
H
(2019). Phylogeography explains spatiotemporal evolution of canine rabies in Tunisia.
Front. Vet. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fvets.2019.05.00088
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Received:
09 Jun 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Zied BOUSLAMA, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of Rabies, Tunis, Tunisia, ziedbouslama80@gmail.com
Dr. Amel Ghouila, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Laboratory of transmission, control and immunobiology of infections, Tunis, Tunisia, amel.ghouila@gmail.com