Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E Picard-Meyer

Publications and source records attributed to E Picard-Meyer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Use of filter paper (FTA) technology for sampling, recovery and molecular characterisation of rabies viruses.

This study evaluates the feasibility of the use of the FTA Gene Guard System (a commercial product consisting of filter paper impregnated with patented chemicals supplied by the Whatman company) for the shipment, storage and detection of RNA rabies viruses by a simplified hemi-nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. HnRT-PCR of the rabies virus nucleoprotein gene with specific primers showed that viral RNA extracted from crude infected tissues remained stable after fixation on the filter paper under diverse environmental conditions for at least 35 days. The sequence analysis of the products amplified from five out of the seven known genotypes of Lyssaviruses showed the stability of viral RNA viruses after fixation on the filter paper. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the hnRT-PCR following RNA fixation on the filter paper was equivalent to that of standard hnRT-PCR. In conclusion, the stability of viral RNA and the inactivation of infectivity make the FTA technology useful for the storage, transport, collection and subsequent molecular analysis of viral rabies RNA, facilitating epidemiological investigations in the field.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Rabies diagnosis.

A reliable diagnosis of rabies can only be made based on laboratory examination of specimens collected from suspected animals. Without data from diagnostic tests, it is not possible to establish rabies control policies. These data are also necessary for evaluating the impact of control measures on the disease and to adapt veterinary and human health policies to the rabies situation. This paper presents the routine laboratory techniques for rabies diagnosis that are published and recommended by both the OIE and WHO and which form the basis of rabies surveillance. They are presented along with more recent techniques which have proved useful in epidemiological and phylogenetic studies. The first step in controlling a disease is to be able to identify it consistently. A reliable and sensitive diagnostic test is therefore essential for use in epidemiological studies and disease control. Reliable diagnosis is also needed by official medical and veterinary services to decide how to deal with infected humans or animals. Without knowing where rabies is present in a country, it is difficult to establish a solid, long-term control policy. A viral disease may be diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs or after laboratory examination. Clinical diagnosis is based on the observation of symptoms and on observation of specific or at least highly evocative signs. Laboratory tests reveal the presence of infection using either indirect or direct methods. The most frequently used indirect methods are based on serological testing. Direct methods aim to detect the virus itself, its proteins, genetic material or traces of its replication in tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Bat rabies surveillance in France, from 1989 through May 2005.

In France, the passive surveillance of lyssaviruses in bats started in 1989, with the first positive case found in the East of the country. In 2000, the French bat rabies surveillance network in France was improved on the basis of the one used for the surveillance of fox rabies. The objectives of this network are to improve bat rabies surveillance by increasing the number of specimens and to provide an estimation of rabies incidence in bat populations across the country. The surveillance network is principally constituted by the network of local Veterinary Services and by the National Bat Conservationists Network (French Society for the Study and Protection of Mammals). From 1989 to through 2004, 21 autochtonous rabies cases were diagnosed out of the 934 French bat cadavers found. The laboratory techniques used for diagnosis, recommended by WHO and OIE, were fluorescent antibody test (FAT), rabies tissue culture infection test (RTCIT) on murine neuroblastoma cells, and the mouse inoculation test (MIT). All 21 cases were diagnosed in serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) and were due to European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1), genotype 5, infection.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Genetic analysis of European bat lyssavirus type 1 isolates from France.

European bat lyssavirus type 1a (EBLV-1a) was first identified in central France from a serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) collected at the end of 2002. Rabies was diagnosed by reference rabies diagnosis methods and molecular tools. Phylogenetic analysis of 14 viral isolates obtained from French bats infected with EBLV-1 between 1989 and the end of 2002 against 47 nucleoprotein sequences showed a north-west to east distribution of EBLV-1a virus and a south to north distribution of EBLV-1b virus, isolates of which could be divided into two groups: group 1 in north-eastern France and group 2 in central and north-western France.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Development of a hemi-nested RT-PCR method for the specific determination of European Bat Lyssavirus 1. Comparison with other rabies diagnostic methods.

A simplified hemi-nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (hnRT-PCR) has been developed to determine specifically the European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) nucleoprotein gene. The specificity of this method was determined by using the seven genotypes of lyssavirus by RT-PCR, Southern blot and sequence analysis. Compared to the rabies diagnostic methods, the hnRT-PCR showed a higher sensitivity for the detection of small amounts of EBLV-1 virus. In view of these results, we suggest this new hnRT-PCR should be performed for the epidemiological survey of bat colonies, also providing rapid detection and genotyping of EBLV-1 until now encountered in all naturally infected bats in France.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

Rabies and rabies-related viruses: a modern perspective on an ancient disease.

Rabies is a worldwide zoonosis caused by a lyssavirus, with many host species acting as reservoirs for infection. The epidemiology of rabies has changed over recent years, as this disease has been brought under control or eliminated in many terrestrial animal species in Europe and North America. A large number of Lyssavirus variants have now been characterised, and their distribution and animal hosts have become known. However, new lyssaviruses have been isolated from bats, prompting scientists to question the efficacy of the existing human and veterinary vaccines against these new strains. The epidemiology of bat rabies should be fully explored, so that the precise risks to the health of humans and domestic and wild carnivores may be determined and methods of preventing the disease among people who handle bats can be discovered. Rabies is still a significant public health problem, particularly in areas where canine rabies is still endemic, such as countries in Africa and Asia.

Animals↗