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Canine distemper virus (CDV) has been implicated in population declines of wildlife, including many threatened species. Here we present the full genome of CDV from an Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis , the world's rarest and most endangered canid., (© Crown copyright 2017.)

A brain homogenate derived from a rabid dog in the district of Tojikobod, Republic of Tajikistan, was applied to a Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) card. A full-genome sequence of rabies virus (RABV) was generated from the FTA card directly without extraction, demonstrating the utility of these cards for readily obtaining genetic data., (© Crown copyright 2017.)

All lyssaviruses (family Rhabdoviridae) cause the disease rabies, an acute progressive encephalitis for which, once symptoms occur, there is no effective cure. Using next-generation sequencing, the full-genome sequence for a novel lyssavirus, Lleida bat lyssavirus (LLEBV), from the original brain of a common bent-winged bat has been confirmed., (© Crown copyright 2017.)

Using next-generation sequencing technologies, the first complete genome sequence of Rift Valley fever virus strain Lunyo is reported here. Originally reported as an attenuated antigenic variant strain from Uganda, genomic sequence analysis shows that Lunyo clusters together with other Ugandan isolates., (Copyright © 2016 Lumley et al.)

South African rabies viruses (RABVs) from dogs and jackals (canid viruses) are highly related and most likely originated from a single progenitor. RABV is the cause of most global human rabies cases. The complete genome sequences of 3 RABVs from South Africa and Zimbabwe are reported here., (Copyright © 2015 Sabeta et al.)

Issyk-Kul virus (ISKV) is an ungrouped virus tentatively assigned to the Bunyaviridae family and is associated with an acute febrile illness in several central Asian countries. Using next-generation sequencing technologies, we report here the full-genome sequence for this novel unclassified arboviral pathogen circulating in central Asia., (Copyright © 2015 Atkinson et al.)

Ethiopian wolves are the rarest canid in the world, with only 500 found in the Ethiopian highlands. Rabies poses the most immediate threat to their survival, causing epizootic cycles of mass mortality. The complete genome sequence of a rabies virus (RABV) derived from an Ethiopian wolf during the most recent epizootic is reported here., (Copyright © 2015 Crown Copyright.)

All members of the lyssavirus genus cause the disease rabies. European bat lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) viruses are divided genetically into three groups according to geographic location and host reservoir. We report here the first genome sequence for an EBLV-1 isolated from Eptesiscus isabellinus in the Iberian Peninsula, Spain., (Copyright © 2015 Marston et al.)

Louping ill virus (LIV) is a zoonotic virus causing fatal encephalitis in young sheep and grouse. We have recovered the complete genome sequence from a spinal cord sample prepared from a lamb that was naturally infected with LIV. This is only the second LIV genome sequence reported and the first prepared from a clinical sample.

Lyssaviruses (family Rhabdoviridae) constitute one of the most important groups of viral zoonoses globally. All lyssaviruses cause the disease rabies, an acute progressive encephalitis for which, once symptoms occur, there is no effective cure. Currently available vaccines are highly protective against the predominantly circulating lyssavirus species. Using next-generation sequencing technologies, we have obtained the whole-genome sequence for a novel lyssavirus, Ikoma lyssavirus (IKOV), isolated from an African civet in Tanzania displaying clinical signs of rabies. Genetically, this virus is the most divergent within the genus Lyssavirus. Characterization of the genome will help to improve our understanding of lyssavirus diversity and enable investigation into vaccine-induced immunity and protection.

All lyssaviruses cause fatal encephalitis in mammals. There is sufficient antigenic variation within the genus to cause variable vaccine efficacy, but this variation is difficult to characterize quantitatively: sequence analysis cannot yet provide detailed antigenic information, and antigenic neutralization data have been refractory to high-resolution robust interpretation. Here, we address these issues by using state-of-the-art antigenic analyses to generate a high-resolution antigenic map of a global panel of 25 lyssaviruses. We compared the calculated antigenic distances with viral glycoprotein ectodomain sequence data. Although 67% of antigenic variation was predictable from the glycoprotein amino acid sequence, there are in some cases substantial differences between genetic and antigenic distances, thus highlighting the risk of inferring antigenic relationships solely from sequence data at this time. These differences included epidemiologically important antigenic differences between vaccine strains and wild-type rabies viruses. Further, we quantitatively assessed the antigenic relationships measured by using rabbit, mouse, and human sera, validating the use of nonhuman experimental animals as a model for determining antigenic variation in humans. The use of passive immune globulin is a crucial component of rabies postexposure prophylaxis, and here we also show that it is possible to predict the reactivity of immune globulin against divergent lyssaviruses.