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China has been facing an ongoing rabies epizootic since the middle of the 1990s that, consistent with many other countries experiencing major extended rabies outbreaks, is primarily spread by domestic dogs transmitting the rabies virus (RABV), a species of the Genus Lyssavirus. The southern and eastern parts of the country report the majority of human cases, but almost all provinces have experienced some degree of impact from the disease. For several years now, we have been working with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate surveillance data (in the form of demographics and sequence data collected from isolates) From this, we have built up a detailed picture of the current epizootic so that we can identify the origin of new cases (i.e., from dogs, or wildlife). This is important as it allows us to determine whether existing control techniques are effectively controlling the spread of the current epizootic and if current checkpoints at national borders are preventing the introduction of new cases from neighboring countries.
