{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T08:43:06Z","timestamp":1771922586335,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768867200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hispaniola, comprised of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is a rabies-endemic island. Since 2013, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have operated advanced surveillance systems that have increased the number of humans and animals tested. In this study, rabies-positive samples collected between 2014 and 2023 were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the rabies virus (RABV) from Hispaniola forms a novel \u2018Caribbean subclade\u2019 with two distinct lineages: a major lineage associated with dogs and found across Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic and a second lineage associated with dogs and mongoose found only in the Dominican Republic. Phylogenetic data support dogs as the main rabies reservoir in Haiti and show evidence of cross-border transmission. In the eastern part of the Dominican Republic, the evidence supports mongooses as the primary reservoir of rabies. Subclades within Haiti suggest that geospatial segregation of dogs and rabies may offer opportunities for zoned rabies elimination programs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1688184","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T06:29:39Z","timestamp":1768890579000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Using molecular approaches to assess rabies virus diversity in Haiti and the Dominican Republic"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Rene E.","family":"Condori","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]},{"name":"Golbelt Professional Services","place":["Chesapeake, VA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Augustin Pierre","family":"Dilius","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Agriculture","place":["Port-au-Prince, Haiti"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rolain","family":"Cadet","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ministry of Agriculture","place":["Port-au-Prince, Haiti"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Griselda","family":"Lopez-Nu\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratorio Nacional de Salud P\u00fablica Dr. Defill\u00f3, Ministerio de Salud P\u00fablica y Asistencia Social","place":["Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elinna","family":"Diaz-Mateo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Prevenci\u00f3n y Control de Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vectores y Zoonosis (CECOVEZ), Ministerio de Salud P\u00fablica y Asistencia Social","place":["Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anna K.","family":"Gomez-Belliard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Direcci\u00f3n Provincial de Salud Santiago, Ministerio de Salud P\u00fablica y Asistencia Social","place":["Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yasmeen B.","family":"Ross","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cassandra","family":"Boutelle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andres","family":"Velasco-Villa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Crystal M.","family":"Gigante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ryan M.","family":"Wallace","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","place":["Atlanta, GA, United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1155\/2022\/5942693","article-title":"Rabies elimination: is it feasible without considering wildlife?","volume":"2022","author":"Acharya","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Trop. Med."},{"key":"ref2","first-page":"403","volume-title":"Ecology of the small Indian mongoose (","author":"Berentsen","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tree.2015.03.009","article-title":"Measurably evolving pathogens in the genomic era","volume":"30","author":"Biek","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trends Ecol. Evol."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"326","DOI":"10.3390\/ani1040326","article-title":"Canine rabies: a looming threat to public health","volume":"1","author":"Burgos-C\u00e1ceres","year":"2011","journal-title":"Animals"},{"key":"ref5","first-page":"1734","article-title":"Imported human rabies -New Jersey, 2011","volume":"60","year":"2012","journal-title":"MMWR Morb. Mortal Wkly. Rep."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0008317","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0008317","article-title":"Long-range movements coupled with heterogeneous incubation period sustain dog rabies at the national scale in Africa","volume":"14","author":"Colombi","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2563","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msx176","article-title":"Using viral gene sequences to compare and explain the heterogeneous spatial dynamics of virus epidemics","volume":"34","author":"Dellicour","year":"2017","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Evol."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"356","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-6632.1992.tb19662.x","article-title":"Mongoose rabies in the Caribbean","volume":"653","author":"Everard","year":"1992","journal-title":"Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2017.00103","article-title":"The road to dog rabies control and elimination\u2014what keeps us from moving faster?","volume":"5","author":"Fahrion","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Public Health"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1038\/nrmicro.2018.11","article-title":"The spread and evolution of rabies virus: conquering new frontiers","volume":"16","author":"Fisher","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0006271","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0006271","article-title":"Rabies in the Americas: 1998-2014","volume":"12","author":"Freire de Carvalho","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1006\/viro.2001.1271","article-title":"Genetic constraints and the adaptive evolution of rabies virus in nature","volume":"292","author":"Holmes","year":"2002","journal-title":"Virology"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4247","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-023-39847-x","article-title":"Integrating full and partial genome sequences to decipher the global spread of canine rabies virus","volume":"14","author":"Holtz","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12476","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-92067-5","article-title":"The urgency of resuming disrupted dog rabies vaccination campaigns: a modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis","volume":"11","author":"Kunkel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0009449","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0009449","article-title":"Mathematical modelling and phylodynamics for the study of dog rabies dynamics and control: a scoping review","volume":"15","author":"Layan","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.17-0347","article-title":"Public health progress in Haiti","volume":"97","author":"Lowrance","year":"2017","journal-title":"Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"704","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm6832a5","article-title":"Notes from the field: rabies outbreak investigation \u2014 Pedernales, Dominican Republic, 2019","volume":"68","author":"Mandra","year":"2019","journal-title":"MMWR Morb. Mortal Wkly. Rep."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed6020098","article-title":"Evolution of rabies in South America and inter-species dynamics (2009-2018)","volume":"6","author":"Meske","year":"2021","journal-title":"Trop. Med. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.20517\/ohir.2023.37","article-title":"A brief history of rabies in Haiti until the adoption of the one health approach for its epidemiological surveillance and control","volume":"3","author":"Millien","year":"2023","journal-title":"One Health Implement Res"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1313","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268806006297","article-title":"A molecular epidemiological study of rabies in Cuba","volume":"134","author":"Nadin-Davis","year":"2006","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1016\/j.virusres.2007.08.002","article-title":"A molecular epidemiological study of rabies in Puerto Rico","volume":"131","author":"Nadin-Davis","year":"2008","journal-title":"Virus Res."},{"key":"ref22","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2023.1090222","article-title":"Rabies virus in white-nosed coatis (Nasua narica) in Mexico: what do we know so far?","volume":"10","author":"Puebla-Rodr\u00edguez","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-818705-0.00020-0","article-title":"Modeling canine rabies virus transmission dynamics","volume-title":"Rabies","author":"Rajeev","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0010397","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0010397","article-title":"The effects of geographical distributions of buildings and roads on the spatiotemporal spread of canine rabies: an individual-based modeling study","volume":"16","author":"Sararat","year":"2022","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.3390\/v13020323","article-title":"Modeling mongoose rabies in the Caribbean: a model-guided fieldwork approach to identify research priorities","volume":"13","author":"Sauve","year":"2021","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1052349","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2023.1052349","article-title":"Electronic application for rabies management improves surveillance, data quality, and investigator experience in Haiti","volume":"10","author":"Schrodt","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed3030089","article-title":"Rabies in the Caribbean: a situational analysis and historic review","volume":"3","author":"Seetahal","year":"2018","journal-title":"Trop. Med. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3668","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.042400799","article-title":"Predicting the spatial dynamics of rabies epidemics on heterogeneous landscapes","volume":"99","author":"Smith","year":"2002","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A."},{"key":"ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/166.2.296","article-title":"Epidemiologic and historical relationships among 87 rabies virus isolates as determined by limited sequence analysis","volume":"166","author":"Smith","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3359","DOI":"10.3389\/fitd.2024.1303359","article-title":"Eliminating invisible deaths: the woeful state of global rabies data and its impact on progress towards the 2030 sustainable development goals for neglected tropical diseases","volume":"5","author":"Swedberg","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1001166","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1001166","article-title":"Phylodynamics and human-mediated dispersal of a zoonotic virus","volume":"6","author":"Talbi","year":"2010","journal-title":"PLoS Pathog."},{"key":"ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.2147\/VMRR.S51147","article-title":"Global epidemiology of canine rabies: past, present, and future prospects","volume":"6","author":"Taylor","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vet Med (Auckl)."},{"key":"ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"274","DOI":"10.2307\/4588059","article-title":"Mongoose rabies in Puerto Rico","volume":"67","author":"Tierkel","year":"1952","journal-title":"Public Health Rep."},{"key":"ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1006041","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1006041","article-title":"Large-scale Phylogenomic analysis reveals the complex evolutionary history of rabies virus in multiple carnivore hosts","volume":"12","author":"Troupin","year":"2016","journal-title":"PLoS Pathog."},{"key":"ref36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.antiviral.2017.03.023","article-title":"Successful strategies implemented towards the elimination of canine rabies in the Western hemisphere","volume":"143","author":"Velasco-Villa","year":"2017","journal-title":"Antivir. Res."},{"key":"ref37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1016\/j.antiviral.2017.03.013","article-title":"The history of rabies in the Western hemisphere","volume":"146","author":"Velasco-Villa","year":"2017","journal-title":"Antivir. Res."},{"key":"ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1849","DOI":"10.3201\/eid1412.080876","article-title":"Enzootic rabies elimination from dogs and reemergence in wild terrestrial carnivores, United States","volume":"14","author":"Velasco-Villa","year":"2008","journal-title":"Emerg. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20120143","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2012.0143","article-title":"Progress towards eliminating canine rabies: policies and perspectives from Latin America and the Caribbean","volume":"368","author":"Vigilato","year":"2013","journal-title":"Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B Biol. Sci."},{"key":"ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0005258","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0005258","article-title":"A Pan-lyssavirus Taqman Real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection of highly variable rabies virus and other lyssaviruses","volume":"11","author":"Wadhwa","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.16-0647","article-title":"The health impact of rabies in Haiti and recent developments on the path toward elimination, 2010-2015","volume":"97","author":"Wallace","year":"2017","journal-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg"},{"key":"ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0004245","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0004245","article-title":"Establishment of a high canine rabies burden in Haiti through the implementation of a novel surveillance program [corrected]","volume":"9","author":"Wallace","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."},{"key":"ref43","year":"2018"},{"key":"ref44","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e3251","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0003251","article-title":"The phylogeography of rabies in Grenada, West Indies, and implications for control","volume":"8","author":"Zieger","year":"2014","journal-title":"PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Microbiology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1688184\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T07:37:44Z","timestamp":1771918664000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1688184\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]},"references-count":44,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1688184"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmicb.2025.1688184","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-302X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-302X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]},"article-number":"1688184"}}