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Page 128 Botvinkin et al. One Health Implement Res 2023;3:125-34 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/ohir.2023.19

Table 1. Rabies virus isolates used for genetic analysis
No. Isolate number GenBank number Species Location (coordinates, decimal degrees) Year
1 2981/2018/Amur MN384722 Cow 49.68 N, 128.78 E 2018
2 Amur8853 rd ON246188 Raccoon dog 49.83 N, 128.37 E 2018
3 Amur8855 f ON246189 Red fox 49.97 N, 129.17 E 2018
4 Amur8854 rd ON526986 Raccoon dog 49.62 N, 128.65 E 2018
5 Amur8856 f ON526987 Red fox 50.16 N, 128.80 E 2018
6 Amur8857 f ON526988 Red fox 49.91 N, 128.37 E 2018
7 Amur8858 hor ON526989 Horse 49.62 N, 128.65 E 2018
8 Amur8944 w ON526990 Wolf 49.46 N, 129.00 E 2019
9 Amur8946 w ON526991 Wolf 49.60 N, 128.77 E 2019

the MEGA X program . For comparison, 38 N gene sequences of RABV isolates from various genetic
[23]
lineages documented in Asia were retrieved from GenBank. Since the isolates of interest belong to the so-
called Arctic-like-2 lineage, all the isolates of this group available in GenBank were included in the study,
except for highly similar or identical ones. Bootstrap values were determined for 1,000 replicates by the
maximum likelihood method.

Cartography
For cartographic analysis, in addition to the ARR data, we used information on laboratory-confirmed rabies
[21]
cases in neighboring regions of Russia: the Trans-Baikal Region (n = 49, 2014-2020) , the JAR (n = 8, 2017-
2019), the Khabarovsk Region (n = 25, 2018-2019), and the Primorsky Region (n = 2, 2013-2019)
[Supplementary Table 3]. Mapping was performed using the QGIS 3.26.3 program based on the Natural
Earth electronic landscape-geographic map (https://www.naturalearthdata.com) and OpenStreetMap
database (https://www.openstreetmap.org/). Points on the map were plotted according to the geographical
coordinates of where animal rabies cases were detected. The points of detection of genetic variants of the
RV in the adjacent territories of China were transferred from the maps in previously published
articles [16-19,24,25] . The speed of the epizootic spread was estimated by the distance from the point of the first
case in 2018 to all other points in annual cycles, starting from July of the current year to June of the
following year (resettlement time of a new generation of wild carnivores across the territory). The median
(Me), minimum, and maximum distances are presented.

RESULTS
The first laboratory-confirmed case of rabies in the ARR was documented in a cow on November 10, 2018,
30 km from the state border between Russia and China. The infection was presumably sourced from a fox
that ran into the village and attacked dogs and farm animals. As a result of active surveillance, by the end of
2018, 16 rabies cases were detected in red foxes (V.vulpes), raccoon dogs
(N. procyonoides), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and farm animals [Table 2]. In March 2019, 3
rabies cases were documented in wolves (Canis lupus) that attacked humans. One of these wolves was
observed by border guards within the guarded border strip in the floodplain of the Amur River. The
outbreak was spreading northwesterly. During 2021, most rabies cases were detected in areas distanced by
more than 200 km from the first case. Only two cases were registered in the first quarter of 2022 [Figure 1].
In total, during 2018-2022, animal rabies was detected in 13 administrative units of the ARR. In 2020, a
woman died with typical symptoms of hydrophobia three months after being bitten by a domestic dog in a
rabies-affected area [Figure 1]. The dog died the next day after a bite. Neither human nor dog samples were
sent to a laboratory for rabies rule-out. The patient did not receive post-exposure prophylaxis.