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Article: Rabies in Sri Lanka: splendid isolation. (Dispatches).
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- March 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Rabies virus exists in dogs on Sri Lanka as a single, minimally divergent lineage only distantly related to other rabies virus lineages in Asia. Stable, geographically isolated virus populations are susceptible to local extinction. A fully implemented rabies-control campaign could make Sri Lanka the first Asian country in >30 years to become free of rabies virus.
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Rabies, an encephalomyelitis caused by infection with rabies virus or other lyssaviruses, is responsible for 40,000-50,000 human deaths each year in Asian countries (1). Human rabies is preventable, but the high cost of antirabies biologics limits their use. Because the source of ...