چکیده : 

Rabies is a widespread zoonotic disease responsible for approximately 55,000 human deaths/year. The

direct fluorescent antibody test (DFAT) and the mouse inoculation test (MIT) used for rabies diagnosis,

have high sensitivity and specificity, but are expensive and time-consuming. These disadvantages and

the identification of new strains of the virus encourage the use of new techniques that are rapid, sensitive,

specific and economical for the detection and research of the Rabies Virus (RABV). Real-time

RT-PCR, phylogeographic analysis, proteomic assays and DNA recombinant technology have been used

in research laboratories. Together, these techniques are effective on samples with low virus titers in the

study of molecular epidemiology or in the identification of new disease markers, thus improving the

performance of biological assays. In this context, modern advances in molecular technology are now

beginning to complement more traditional approaches and promise to revolutionize the diagnosis of

rabies. This brief review presents some of the recent molecular tools used for RABV analysis, with

emphasis on rabies diagnosis and research.