Ten Important Things To Remember About Rhabdoviridae:
1. Rabies is the most lethal of all human infectious diseases (mortality rate of about 100%).
2. Rabies has the widest host range of any human virus.
3. Rabies has no natural host reservoir in which the host is not killed.
4. Rabies has a unique mode of viral transmission (some other viruses can be transmitted this way but don't depend on it) - by vertebrate bite.
5. Rabies results in a coordinated series of behaviors in its host (especially carnivores) that is necessary for transmission of the virus (namely increased aggression).
6. Rabies has a long incubation period until the development of the disease.
7. The long latency period allows for post-exposure vaccination.
8. The Pasteur rabies vaccine was the first vaccine developed in a planned fashion.
9. Rhabdoviridae have a unique bullet-shaped morphology.
10. VSV has been used as a model to elucidate many topics in molecular biology. |