ABSTRACT
The rhabdoviruses of vertebrates and invertebrates are divided in this chapter into three categories based on host range. The majority of the viruses are propagated in the laboratory mouse and are thus designated rhabdoviruses of warm-blooded vertebrates despite the fact that many also have arthropod hosts, and that some are found in nature so far only in arthropods. The second category contains six viruses that are isolated from fish and grown in fish or fish cell lines. The final category is made up of Sigma virus and viruses from entamoeba and the blue crab. Means of classification of rhabdoviruses other than serological have been proposed and will undoubtedly be used more frequently in the future as morphologic and physico-chemical methods become available in laboratories where new rhabdoviruses are being isolated. The investigation of the serological relationships among the rhabdoviruses isolated from fish has shown that viruses thought to be distinct entities were serologically indistinguishable.
