The article reports that Russell Lewis Oakes from Lancashire, England, has been arrested by police following a complaint by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) that he had fraudulently registered as a veterinary surgeon using false papers. The complaint claimed that Oakes used a forged qualification from Murdoch University in Western Australia to register with the RCVS in November 2006.
Johnson, N., Selden, D., Parsons, G., Healy, D., Brookes, S.M., McElhinney, L.M., Hutson, A.M., and Fooks, A.R.
Subjects
VIRUSES, BATS
Abstract
European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) has been isolated once previously from a bat in the UK in June 1996. In September 2002, a Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) found in Lancashire developed abnormal behaviour, including unprovoked aggression, while it was in captivity. Brain samples from the bat were tested for virus of the Lyssavirus genus, which includes EBLV-2 (genotype 6), and classical rabies virus (genotype 1). A positive fluorescent antibody test confirmed that it was infected with a Iyssavirus, and PCR and genomic sequencing identified the virus as an EBLV-2a. PhyIogenetic comparisons with all the published sequences from genotype 6 showed that it was closely related to the previous isolate of EBLV-2 in the UK and suggested links to isolates from bats in the Netherlands. The isolation of EBLV-2 from a bat found on the west coast of England provides evidence that this virus may be present within the UK Daubenton's bat population at a Iow prevalence level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]