Viruses (Jan 2023)

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

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v15020371
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 2
p. 371

Abstract

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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.

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