Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus type 2 in hares in England

Bell, Diana; Davis, Jonathan P.; Gardner, Matthew R.; Barlow, Alex; Rocchi, Mara; Gentil, Michaela; Wilson, Rand J.

doi:10.1136/vr.l337

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is caused by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and is one of the most important lethal infections in hare with population losses of up to 50% [47,59,60]. Generally, the zoonotic pathogens do not have a major impact on hares, which act mainly as reservoirs for humans [ Some pathogens, such as Taenia pisiformis (a cestode parasitosis) [61], and a few viruses, namely, EBHSV [17], rabbit hemorrhagic disease type 2 (RHDV2) [62][63][64][65][66][67], and the new natural recombinant myxoma virus [68][69][70], cause potentially devastating diseases in hares, constituting real threats to the preservation of the wild populations. These pathogens are described in more detail below.…”

Section: Relevant Hare Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Iberian hare, Lopes et al [105] reported RHDV only in two animals during a retrospective study. However, in the last decade, several cases of RHDV2 disease have been reported in the European hare in France (2013) [64], Spain (2014), and Italy (2012) [65], in the United Kingdom (2018 and 2019) [67], in Australia (2015) [106], in Sweden (2016 and 2017) [38], and in the Netherlands (2017) (https://www.dwhc.nl/en/haas-rhdv-2-nederland/). RHDV2 was also reported in the Cape hare on the island of Sardinia (2011) [63] and in the Italian hare, in Sicily (2012) [34].…”

Section: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Health and Future of the Six Hare Species in Europe: A Closer Look at the Iberian Hare

Duarte¹,

Carvalho²,

Santos³

et al. 2021

Lagomorpha Characteristics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although there are around 40 species of hares in the world divided into three different genera (Lepus, Caprolagus, and Pronolagus), only six species inhabit Europe, all belonging to genus Lepus. The conservation status of these six species was recently revised in the International Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Lepus castroviejoi and L. corsicanus were attributed the status of "vulnerable". The other four species, L. europaeus, L. timidus, L. capensis, and L. granatensis, were considered of "least concern" although a declining trend was recognized for the last two species' wild populations. Here we review the major threats to the hare species in Europe, with emphasis on infectious diseases. Furthermore, we present the sanitary data regarding the Iberian hare populations from Portugal, which were severely affected by the emergence of a naturally occurring recombinant myxoma virus (MYXV), first reported in mid-2018. The recent detection in 2019 of a leporid herpesvirus (LeHV-5), which pathogenicity appears to be exacerbated in MYXV-infected hares, brings additional concerns to the health and conservation of the Iberian hare.

show abstract

Section: Relevant Hare Pathogensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rabbit Hemorrhagic Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

The Health and Future of the Six Hare Species in Europe: A Closer Look at the Iberian Hare

Duarte¹,

Carvalho²,

Santos³

et al. 2021

Lagomorpha Characteristics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, RHDV2 can cause infection not only in young rabbits, including those aged 11 days (Dalton et al, 2012), which used to be considered resistant to the old RHDV genotypes; but also in vaccinated rabbits (Le Gall-Recule et al, 2013), which has also been confirmed in Poland (Fitzner & Niedbalski, 2018). It was also evidenced that RHDV2 causes diseases in other lagomorph species, including the Sardinian Cape hare (Lepus capensis mediterraneus) (Puggioni et al, 2013), Corsican (Italian) hare (Lepus corsicanus) (Camarda et al, 2014), Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) (Lopes et al, 2014) and European hare (Lepus europaeus) (Hall et al, 2017), and recently even in the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) (Neimanis et al, 2018) and hares in England (Bell et al, 2019), unlike RHDV and RHDVa, which are believed to be characteristic for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The latest case of infection is the sixth Lepus species to be infected with RHDV2, which suggests that the susceptibility to RHDV2 can be widespread among the Lepus species (Neimanis et al, 2018;Bell et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was also evidenced that RHDV2 causes diseases in other lagomorph species, including the Sardinian Cape hare (Lepus capensis mediterraneus) (Puggioni et al, 2013), Corsican (Italian) hare (Lepus corsicanus) (Camarda et al, 2014), Iberian hare (Lepus granatensis) (Lopes et al, 2014) and European hare (Lepus europaeus) (Hall et al, 2017), and recently even in the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) (Neimanis et al, 2018) and hares in England (Bell et al, 2019), unlike RHDV and RHDVa, which are believed to be characteristic for the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The latest case of infection is the sixth Lepus species to be infected with RHDV2, which suggests that the susceptibility to RHDV2 can be widespread among the Lepus species (Neimanis et al, 2018;Bell et al, 2019). Holms and Grenfell (Holms & Grenfell, 2009) explain that the occurrence of new variants of the virus in the wild is the result of four factors: (1) adaptive evolution of the host's genes that engage in the most thorough interaction with the host's immune response, and react at the "host-pathogen" level, (2) interaction among the locally circulating viruses, (3) possible outbreak dynamics in time and space, and (4) disease spread control methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variability and phylogenetic analysis of Lagovirus europaeus strains GI.1 (RHDV) and GI.2 (RHDV2) based on the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) coding gene

Hukowska-Szematowicz

2020

Acta Biochim Pol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lagovirus europaeus GI.1 (RHDV-rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus) and GI.2 (RHDV2-rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2), family Caliciviridae, genus Lagovirus, are etiological factors of the rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD). This small RNA virus is a great model for tracking the variability and evolution of RNA viruses, because it uses an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) to replicate its own genetic material. This polymerase determines the fidelity and the rates of replication and mutation of the virus, conditioning its adaptation to the environment and even to a new host, and thus influencing evolution of the virus. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships of 105 Lagovirus europaeus strains with different genotypes based on the RdRp gene. The strains came from around the world in the years of 1987–2017. The aforementioned group of 105 strains included 14 strains whose RdRp sequences were obtained and analysed in this study, and the rest were retrieved from GenBank: 74 strains classified as genotype GI.1 (RHDV), 14 as GI.2 (RHDV2), 2 strains of Lagovirus europaeus not assigned to any genotype, and a MRCV strain, the sequences of which were collected from GenBank. Among the 14 strains whose RdRp sequences were obtained in this study, the highest variability was presented in the Austrian 237 strain from 2004. The genetic distance between the Austrian 237 strain and the remaining thirteen analysed strains ranged from 0.117 to 0.123 (from 11.7% to 12.3% nucleotide substitutions). The lowest variability, however, was recorded for Hungarian, Czech and Austrian strains. On the phylogenetic tree, the 14 analysed strains were allocated into GI.1c (G2), GI.1d (G3-G5) and GI.1a (RHDVa). Analysis of the genetic variability of the 105 strains of Lagovirus europaeus indicated a growing genetic distance between the strains, both in time and location. Phylogenetic analysis showed a division of the strains into seven groups, dictated by the chronology, geographical location and evolutionary events in the history of the virus, such as mutations and recombinations.

show abstract

“…Similar to the rest of Europe, RHDV2 infection has been detected in European brown hares ( Lepus europaeus ) in England,4 although in a limited number and possibly representing a spill-over event from rabbits 5…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%