Molecular-Biological Analysis of the First Imported Rabies Case in Taiwan

Wang SF

2002 Vol.18 NO.10

Correspondence Author：

Abstract：

Taiwan is free from rabies. No cases have been reported in the last 43 years. In late April 2002, a 45-year-old woman surnamed Lo of Hunan Province, Mainland China, was accidentally bitten at home by a domesticated dog. She came to Taiwan in May to visit relatives. On June 29, she was admitted to hospital for clinical symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, fear of wind (aerophobia), and numbness of the arms. The case was diagnosed as rabies. On July 1, saliva and CSF specimens, and on July 3 suctioned tracheal specimens of the woman, were sent to the Division of Research and Laboratory Testing of the Center for Disease Control for confirmation. A preliminary analysis by the RT-PCR method found the specimens positive. The findings further underwent sequencing analysis, and according to DNA sequencing they were confirmed rabies viruses. For reconfirmation, 433bp of the RT-PCR section was used for TA cloning by the pGMT-EASY method to further confirm that they were rabies viruses. The saliva, CSF and TS extracts of the woman were inoculated into suckling mice. All the mice died on the sixth day.