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Journal of General Virology header logo Journal of General Virology

Volume 106, Issue 11

Immunohistochemical investigation of canine lymph nodes collected during a rabies outbreak in South Africa Open Access

Abstract

Rabies is a fatal zoonosis that impairs host immune function, yet effects on peripheral lymphoid architecture are poorly defined. During a 2021–2022 rabies virus (RABV) outbreak in South Africa, we collected cervical lymph nodes from 36 rabies-suspect dogs; RABV RNA was detected in 27. Canine distemper virus RNA was detected in a subset across both RABV-positive (RABV+) and RABV-negative (RABV−) groups and was not associated with clinical-sign count. We set up a computer-assisted histological analysis tool to quantify germinal-centre (GC) nucleus density and immunohistochemistry for CD20, PNA and IBA1 to profile B cells, GC activity and macrophages. Within the outbreak cohort, GC density and marker-based metrics did not differ between RABV+ and RABV− dogs. Two healthy dogs were included as reference tissues; values in outbreak dogs were generally lower, but these contrasts are contextual given the limited, non-matched controls. This study provides a reproducible framework for quantifying immune cell organization in field-collected tissues during natural RABV exposure and highlights the need for larger, geographically matched control groups and complementary functional immune measurements.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): B-cell response , immune depletion , lymph nodes , macrophage and rabies virus
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • ZonMw (Award NWO-VENI 09150162010181)
    • Principal Award Recipient: CarmenW.E. Embregts
© 2025 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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2025-11-06
2025-12-15

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Immunohistochemical investigation of canine lymph nodes collected during a rabies outbreak in South Africa
J. Gen. Virol. 106, 002166 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002166
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.002166
/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.002166
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