Molecular epidemiology of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus outbreaks in France during 1988 to 1995.

Abstract

In order to evaluate genetic variation between rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) isolates and to derive phylogenetic relationships, 56 virus isolates collected from various parts of France over a 7 year period (1988 to 1995) were examined. Analyses were carried out by direct nucleotide sequencing of PCR fragments of three genomic regions encoding the capsid protein (VP60) (regions A and B) and a non-structural protein (region C). Multiple sequence alignments revealed maximum nucleotide divergence of 7n6, 9n4 and 8n7 % for regions A, B and C, respectively, indicating a high level of conservation between isolates. Irrespective of the genomic region analysed, phylogenetic analyses carried out using various methods allowed the identification of three genogroups ; distribution of isolates within these genogroups appears to be more related to the year of their collection than to their geographical origin. The possible evolution of RHDV is discussed.Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease of both domestic and wild rabbits. The disease is characterized by a short incubation period (24 to 48 h) and a high rate of mortality (60 to 90 %). Only young animals (less than 2 months old) remain unaffected.RHD was first described in China in 1984(Liu et al., 1984 and then in Korea following rabbit fur importation from China. Subsequently, the virus has spread from Asia to continental European countries and by 1989 the virus was widespread throughout Europe (Morisse et al., 1991). RHD was also described

Diversity of RHD virus: epidemiological, diagnostic and immunological importance

“…RHDV i RHDVa należą do jednego serotypu, natomiast RHDV2 prawdopodobnie reprezentuje osobną serogrupę (42). Klasyczny wirus RHD obejmuje szczepy izolowane od 1984 r. Badania epizootyczne, antygenowe i filogenetyczne przeprowadzone w pierwszych latach występowania RHD w Europie oraz po dwóch latach od uwolnienia wirusa na Antypodach podkreślają stabilność i niewielką zmienność RHDV (5,41,58). W miarę upływu czasu i gromadzenia nowych izolatów obraz ten ulegał coraz większym zmianom.…”

Evaluation of the usefulness of laboratory diagnostic methods in RHD outbreak

“…Specific primers ( Table 1) enabling amplification of the 3' end of the RHDV polymerase gene (POL) and the full capsid protein (VP60) gene were synthesised according to the primer sequences (4,5,15,21,22,25). The following thermal profiles were applied: 94°C for 3 min, 35 cycles of 94°C for 1 min, 55°C for 1 min, 72°C for 1 min, and a final extension at 72°C for 10 min.…”

Detection of positive selection in the major capsid protein VP60 of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV)

“…Phylogenetic analyses based on the region E of the RHDV VP60, although not consensual, showed that the phylogenetic clustering of RHDV strains is more correlated with the year of isolation of the strain than to the geographic location (Forrester et al, 2006;Le Gall et al, 1998;Le Gall-Reculé et al, 2003;Moss et al, 2002;Nowotny et al, 1997). Recently, recombination within the VP60 gene was described (Abrantes et al, 2008;Forrester et al, 2008).…”