Rabbit haemorrhagic disease: the new scourge of Oryctolagus cuniculus

Abstract

A new, widespread and important disease of rabbits, rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), is concisely reviewed and discussed. RHD is an acute, infectious condition of adult rabbits and morbidity and mortality, after a relatively short incubation period, can be very high. The disease appears typically as a necrotizing hepatitis with associated haemorrhaging, and death occurs as a result of generalized organ dysfunction. RHD is caused by a calicivirus, antigenically related to a similar virus found in brown hares but distinct from other known caliciviruses, and is spread to susceptible rabbits by a number of routes and vectors. The disease is easily identified and can be effectively controlled in commercial and domestic rabbit populations by slaughter and vaccination regimes. The occurrence of pre-existing cross-reacting antibody in a proportion of rabbits unchallenged by the disease implies the presence of non-pathogenic strains of the virus. This antibody protects against disease on subsequent exposure to RHD. Uniquely, pre-existing antibody does not occur in rabbits in Australia where, after accidental release, the virus is currently spreading rapidly.

Diversity of RHD virus: epidemiological, diagnostic and immunological importance

“…W Europie liczne zachorowania, o nieznanej etiologii, królików hodowlanych, a później dzikich odnotowano w 1986 r. we Włoszech (13). W latach 1987-1989 choroba opanowała cały kontynent, a na początku lat 90. przeniknęła na Wyspy Brytyjskie (17). W Polsce choroba powszechnie znana jako pomór królików występuje od 1988 r. (31).…”

Feline calicivirus

“…This is reminiscent of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). Retrospective studies have shown that RHDV existed in rabbit populations for many years in a seemingly non-pathogenic form [9,11,70]. Then, in the 1980s, highly lethal forms were first reported in China, and have since appeared worldwide [58,72].…”

Horizontal Transmissible Protection against Myxomatosis and Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease by Using a Recombinant Myxoma Virus

“…RHD, an acute and highly contagious disease in wild and domestic rabbits (13,44), was first reported by Liu et al (30) in the People's Republic of China. The disease spread throughout Europe between 1987 and 1989 (37).…”