The family Rhabdoviridae consists of more than 100 single-stranded, negative-sense, nonsegmented viruses that infect a wide variety of hosts, including vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Common to all members of the family is a distinctive rod- or bullet-shaped morphology. Human pathogens of medical importance are found in the genera Lyssavirus and Vesiculovirus.Only rabies virus, medically the most significant member of the genus Lyssavirus, is reviewed in this chapter.
Copyright © 1996, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.