Laboratory Diagnosis of Rabies. Current State and Trends in Development

Abstract

The review considers the relevant aspects of laboratory diagnosis of rabies. The methods of laboratory diagnostics of rabies infection, standardized by WHO in 2018, and their use in the Russian Federation are presented. The scheme of laboratory diagnostics of rabies, applied by specialists of the “48th CRI” of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, for the study of biological samples from deceased people is outlined. Between 2002 and 2018, the study of biomaterial was carried out using molecular-biological, virological methods of diagnosis and in some cases electron microscopy, which allowed to detect and identify the pathogen in 257 samples from 71 people, to certify and deposit new isolates of the rabies virus. Accumulation and analysis of the lessons learned in the application of molecular-biological method of rabies diagnosis allows us to recommend the use of RT-PCR, real-time RT-PCR sets (having a certificate of state registration) in healthcare and veterinary medicine practice to identify the causative agent of rabies infection. The use of molecular-biological methods is promising in terms of the development of rabies diagnosis to improve epidemiological surveillance and raise the efficiency of the biological protection of the population of the Russian Federation.

Keywords

• rabies
• street rabies virus
• laboratory diagnostics