Isolation of a phylogenetically distinct rabies virus from a tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) in Brazil

A rabies virus isolate (BRmk1358 strain) was discovered from a rabid tufted capuchin monkey in Brazil. The present study determined the nucleotide sequence of the BRmk1358 strain and compared with the rabies viruses isolated from marmosets and other animals in the Americas. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the BRmk1358 strain formed a lineage distant from that of marmoset rabies virus within the Chiroptera-related rabies virus cluster. This result suggests that the source of rabies infection in the tufted capuchin monkey may have been bat, and that they have a risk to act as rabies reservoir in Brazil.