Molecular epidemiological tools and phylogenetic analysis of bacteria and viruses with special emphasis on lyssaviruses

This report is a presentation, with the non-molecular biologist in mind, of the different ways in which the information residing in bacteria and viruses can be interpreted using evolution analysis methodologies and thus serve epidemiological studies. The interpretation of sequence variation is more detailed as it provides more suitable data for phylogenetic analysis, The study of rabies virus and especially of lyssaviruses is used to illustrate how phylogenetic analyses provide information on the origin, spread and maintenance of infections.