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Eight hundred and thirteen European rodents and shrews encompassing seven different species were screened for alphacoronaviruses using PCR detection. Novel alphacoronaviruses were detected in the species Rattus norvegicus, Microtus agrestis, Sorex araneus and Myodes glareolus. These, together with the recently described Lucheng virus found in China, form a distinct rodent/shrew-specific clade within the coronavirus phylogeny. Across a highly conserved region of the viral polymerase gene, the new members of this clade were up to 22% dissimilar at the nucleotide level to the previously described Lucheng virus. As such they might represent distinct species of alphacoronaviruses. These data greatly extend our knowledge of wildlife reservoirs of alphacoronaviruses.

Eight hundred and thirteen European rodents and shrews encompassing seven different species were screened for alphacoronaviruses using PCR detection. Novel alphacoronaviruses were detected in the species Rattus norvegicus, Microtus agrestis, Sorex araneus and Myodes glareolus. These, together with the recently described Lucheng virus found in China, form a distinct rodent/shrew-specific clade within the coronavirus phylogeny. Across a highly conserved region of the viral polymerase gene, the new members of this clade were up to 22% dissimilar at the nucleotide level to the previously described Lucheng virus. As such they might represent distinct species of alphacoronaviruses. These data greatly extend our knowledge of wildlife reservoirs of alphacoronaviruses.

Eight hundred and thirteen European rodents and shrews encompassing seven different species were screened for alphacoronaviruses using PCR detection. Novel alphacoronaviruses were detected in the species Rattus norvegicus, Microtus agrestis, Sorex araneus and Myodes glareolus. These, together with the recently described Lucheng virus found in China, form a distinct rodent/shrew-specific clade within the coronavirus phylogeny. Across a highly conserved region of the viral polymerase gene, the new members of this clade were up to 22% dissimilar at the nucleotide level to the previously described Lucheng virus. As such they might represent distinct species of alphacoronaviruses. These data greatly extend our knowledge of wildlife reservoirs of alphacoronaviruses.

Rabies is an encephalitic disease with a mortality rate that approaches 100% in the absence of treatment. The World Health Organisation recognises rabies as a neglected tropical disease due to its disproportionate impact on poor and vulnerable populations in developing countries. Whilst vaccines exist to help prevent and control rabies, these are not always available or accessible to those at high risk. Rabies currently can only be treated effectively prior to the onset of symptoms and as immunoglobulin treatments are expensive and in short supply, and current vaccines require multiple doses to reach full efficacy, full courses of post-exposure prophylaxis may not be completed, leaving vulnerable individuals at risk. Rabies is a zoonotic viral disease that is predominantly caused by the rabies virus. The rabies virus has a broad host range and is capable of infecting most mammalian species, though its main reservoir, and the source of most human infections, are canids, particularly dogs. Rabies can also be caused by non-rabies lyssaviruses, a group of viruses related to rabies virus that are mainly found in bats. Lyssaviruses have been isolated globally and whilst there are very few reports of rabies encephalitis caused by non-rabies lyssavirus species in humans, the general lack of awareness of lyssaviruses in bats can lead to delays in seeking treatment and increase the risks of developing rabies once exposed. Current vaccines are highly effective against rabies virus, but display less effectiveness against other lyssavirus species, with little to no protection provided against the more diverse lyssaviruses. In this project, a lyssavirus pseudotype panel was generated using a range of lyssavirus species. This pseudotype panel was then used to investigate the neutralisation and tropism profiles of the lyssaviruses in question. In developing the pseudotype panel, it was identified that the choice of glycoprotein expression plasmid was vital for the generation of hig

Eight hundred and thirteen European rodents and shrews encompassing seven different species were screened for alphacoronaviruses using PCR detection. Novel alphacoronaviruses were detected in the species Rattus norvegicus, Microtus agrestis, Sorex araneus and Myodes glareolus. These, together with the recently described Lucheng virus found in China, form a distinct rodent/shrew-specific clade within the coronavirus phylogeny. Across a highly conserved region of the viral polymerase gene, the new members of this clade were up to 22% dissimilar at the nucleotide level to the previously described Lucheng virus. As such they might represent distinct species of alphacoronaviruses. These data greatly extend our knowledge of wildlife reservoirs of alphacoronaviruses.