Outbreaks of rabbit hemorrhagic disease have occurred recently in young rabbits on farms on the Iberian Peninsula where rabbits were previously vaccinated. Investigation identified a rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus variant genetically related to apathogenic rabbit caliciviruses. Improved antivirus strategies are needed to slow the spread of this pathogen.

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The study of myxoma virus (MYXV) infections in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has produced one of the most accepted host–pathogen evolutionary models. To date, myxomatosis has been limited to the European rabbit with sporadic reports in hares. However, reports of widespread mortalities in the Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) with myxomatosis‐like clinical signs indicate a potential species jump has occurred. The presence of MYXV DNA was confirmed by PCR in 244 samples received from regional veterinary services, animal health laboratories, hunters or rangers over a 5‐month period. PCR analysis of 4 MYXV positive hare samples revealed a 2.8 kb insertion located within the M009 gene with respect to MYXV. The presence of this insertion was subsequently confirmed in 20 samples from 18 Spanish provinces. Sanger sequencing and subsequent analysis show that the insert contained 4 ORFs which are phylogenetically related to MYXV genes M060, M061, M064 and M065. The complete MYXV genome from hare tissue was sequenced using Ion torrent next‐generation technology and a summary of the data presented here. With the exception of the inserted region, the virus genome had no large scale modifications and 110 mutations with respect to the MYXV reference strain Lausanne were observed. The next phase in the evolution of MYXV has taken place as a host species jump from the European rabbit to the Iberian hare an occurrence which could have important effects on this naïve population.

a reverse transcription-PCR using primers directed to the norovirus RNA polymerase coding region was included in a viral and bacterial routine screening to diagnose sporadic cases of acute gastroenteritis among children in Asturias, Spain. The role of noroviruses (8.6% of the positively diagnosed cases) as the cause of sporadic pediatric gastroenteritis was evaluated with respect to the detection rates of other gastroenteritis-associated viruses and bacteria. The results indicated that noroviruses were less common than rotaviruses (36.9%), Campylobacter spp. (28.8%), and Salmonella spp. (18.4%) but more frequent than astroviruses (4.3%), adenoviruses (3.8%), and Yersinia spp. (2.2%). Mixed infections involving noroviruses were rarely observed (0.5%). The presence of a norovirus-associated pediatric gastroenteritis peak in summer, as well as the complete absence of norovirus-associated cases in colder months, challenges the view that norovirus infections exclusively have wintertime seasonality. On the other hand, phylogenetic analysis of the amplified fragments showed that the norovirus strains responsible were closely related. A further study using the full-length capsid region showed that these strains could be included into genogroup II, Bristol/Lorsdale cluster, and were closely related to the 1995 and 1996 U.S. subset of strains associated with outbreaks recorded worldwide between 1995 and 1996.Gastroenteritis remains a major public health problem worldwide, especially among children. More than 700 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are estimated to occur annually in children less than 5 years old. The mortality associated with gastroenteritis has been estimated to be 3.5 to 5 million per year (14, 33).Many different pathogens have been found in the stools of children with gastroenteritis. From them, bacteria, such as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp., and Yersinia spp. among others and viruses, such as rotaviruses, adenoviruses, and astroviruses, have been clearly established as etiologic agents of gastroenteritis in children (8,21,28).Recently, noroviruses (formerly known as "Norwalk-like viruses") have been included as a common cause of outbreaks and sporadic cases of gastroenteritis worldwide in individuals of all ages. Their role as the major cause of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks has been recently reported (6,18,39). Nevertheless, few studies have been carried out to evaluate the relative contribution of noroviruses to pediatric sporadic gastroenteritis with respect to other classic gastroenteritis-associated viruses and bacteria.The Norovirus genus within the family Caliciviridae includes single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses. They have been divided into two distinct genogroups, GGI and GGII, and further subdivided into several clusters or genotypes based on genetic divergence in regions of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and the major viral capsid protein (VP60) (38). Thus, GGI includes Norwalk, Southampton, Chiba, and Desert Shield viruses, whereas GGII includes Hawaii, ...

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