ABSTRACT

The family Rhabdoviridae consists of rod-shaped viral particles containing a singlestranded, nonsegmented RNA genome; serologically there are two major genera: Vesiculovirus (type species, vesicular stomatitis virus [VSV]) and Lyssavirus (type species, rabies virus). 1 Many other isolates from vertebrates, insects, and plants are also included in the family, because of their characteristic “bullet-shaped” morphology, although most of these await more definitive biochemical and biological characterization.