Phylogenetic analysis of nucleoprotein gene of dog rabies virus isolates from Southern India

India like several other South East Asian and African countries continues to face the public health and economic problems associated with the disease. Our objective was to perform a limited sequence analysis of a portion of nucleoprotein gene of 22 rabies virus isolates obtained from domestic animals in Southern India during 2004–2005. These isolates were compared with rabies virus isolates originating from Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The phylogenetic analysis showed that RV isolates in Southern India belong to genotype 1. They were similar to one another forming a single major genetic cluster not ordered by geography or species of origin. However, they were dissimilar to RV isolates in Northern India and in other parts of the world. The data indicated that dog rabies virus variants are the major circulating viruses and control of dog rabies would result in overall reduction in the burden and incidence of rabies in India.