Rabies virus infection in commensal rodents and bats in Guangzhou city

Objective To examine the prevalence of rabies virus infection in commensal rodents and bats in Guangzhou and to explore whether the rodents or bats are potential sources of human rabies virus infection.Methods Commensal rodents and bats were trapped in parks,hospitals,and markets in Guangzhou city between 2013 and 2015.Brain tissue samples of the trapped animals were collected under sterile.Rabies virus was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)and isolated with Vero cell culture.Results Totally 159 Rattus norvegicus and 66 bats(57 Cynopterus sphinx and 9 Pipistrelle) were trapped and 225 brain tissue samples were collected.No detectable rabies virus was found in the brain tissue samples either by RT-PCR or Vero cell culture isolation.Conclusion There is a low possibility that Rattus norvegicus,Cynopterus sphinx and Pipistrelle in Guangzhou could be infectious sources of human rabies virus infection.