From Field Tests to Molecular Tools—Evaluating Diagnostic Tests to Improve Rabies Surveillance in Namibia
Conrad M. Freuling,
Jolandie van der Westhuizen,
Siegfried Khaiseb,
Tenzin Tenzin,
Thomas Müller
Affiliations
Conrad M. Freuling
Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Jolandie van der Westhuizen
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), Ministry of Agriculture Water and Land Reform, Windhoek 9000, Namibia
Siegfried Khaiseb
Central Veterinary Laboratory, Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), Ministry of Agriculture Water and Land Reform, Windhoek 9000, Namibia
Tenzin Tenzin
World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), Sub-Regional Representation for Southern Africa, Gaborone 25662, Botswana
Thomas Müller
Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Rabies Surveillance and Research, WOAH Reference Laboratory for Rabies, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Rabies is endemic in Namibia and is present both in wildlife carnivores and domestic free-roaming dogs. The disease thus represents a challenge for public human and veterinary disease control. Namibia has implemented a national strategic plan to control rabies and the country’s activities are supported by international organizations. To this end, rabies diagnosis at the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) was improved in the frame of a World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) laboratory twinning program: from practical sampling techniques and the use of lateral flow devices to a novel universal and discriminatory quantitative real-time Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), which easily identify dog-associated rabies viruses. The procedures applied and the results can be used as a template to improve rabies laboratory diagnosis.
