Virus isolation from saliva and salivary glands of cattle naturally infected with paralytic rabies

The infectivity of saliva, salivary and mammary glands, muscle, lung, kidney and liver of 87 cattle infected with paralytic rabies (positive viral isolation from brains) was studied. Fifty percent dilutions of saliva and tissue samples were inoculated intracerebrally into 10- to 15-day-old mice. Viral isolation in mice was confirmed by direct rabies fluorescent-antibody test and the antigenic variant of the isolates characterized by monoclonal antibodies. Rabies virus was isolated from 4.6% of salivary glands and from 1.6% of saliva samples. The rest of the peripheral tissues were negative. Cerebral and peripheral isolates belonged to vampire-bat antigenic variants. These results indicate that cattle infected by vampire bats may be a source of infection for man. The infection risk would depend on the type of contact between rabid cattle and man.