Epidemiological and viral studies of rabies in Bali, Indonesia

Vet World Vol.16 December-2023 Article-8

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(12): 2446-2450

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.2446-2450

Wayan Masa Tenaya¹, Nyoman Suartha², Nyoman Suarsana³, Made Damriyasa⁴, Ida Ayu Pasti Apsasi⁵, Tri Komala Sari⁶, Luh Putu Agustini⁷, Yuli Miswati⁸, and Kadek Karang Agustina¹

1. Department of Disease Prevention, Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
2. Department of Veterinary Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
3. Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
4. Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
5. Laboratory of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
6. Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Udayana University, Denpasar Bali of Indonesia, Jl. PB Sudirman, Denpasar, Bali, 80234, Indonesia.
7. Laboratory of Virology, Veterinary Disease Investigation Center, Denpasar Bali, Jl. Raya Sesetan No. 266, Denpasar, Bali, 80223, Indonesia.
8. Laboratory of Virology, Veterinary Disease Investigation Center, Bukittinggi Jl. Bukittinggi-Payakumbuh, Tabek Panjang, Sumatra Barat, Sumatra, 26192, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Rabies has been endemic in Bali since 2009, and cases has recently increased. Unfortunately, there is a lack of available vaccines, which hinders the eradication program. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and virological aspects of rabies infection in Bali.

Materials and Methods: A total of 24 brain samples were collected from rabid dogs in all districts of Bali. The samples were tested using the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm the presence of rabies virus in the samples. Samples with the highest virus content were propagated in vivo and then inoculated into BALB/c mice. The brains of dead mice were used to prepare an inoculate cultured in murine neuroblastoma cells. Supernatant-positive viruses representing each district were then reinoculated into eight groups of five BALB/c mice. A brain sample from each dead mouse was tested using DFA and PCR and detected under a fluorescence microscope.

Results: All rabies virus-positive samples collected from rabid dogs in all districts of Bali were positive. Rabies virus was detected by DFA test and PCR and was consistently confirmed in the in vivo and in vitro studies. BALB/c mice inoculated with the highest viral dilution (105 cells/mL) of culture supernatant showed typical signs of rabies, indicating that the virus could be properly investigated.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated a wide epidemiological distribution of rabies in Bali. The obtained virus can be adapted for in vitro and in vivo studies and can be used to develop a homologous vaccine. Keywords: Bali, dogs, polymerase chain reaction, rabies virus.

Keywords: Bali, dogs, polymerase chain reaction, rabies virus.

How to cite this article: Tenaya WM, Suartha N, Suarsana N, Damriyasa M, Apsasi IAP, Sari TK, Agustini LP, Miswati Y, and Agustina KK (2023) Epidemiological and viral studies of rabies in Bali, Indonesia, Veterinary World, 16(12): 2446-2450.

Received: 08-08-2023 Accepted: 07-11-2023 Published online: 20-12-2023

Corresponding author: Wayan Masa Tenaya E-mail: wayanmasatenaya@unud.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.2446-2450

Copyright: Tenaya, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.