The Pathogenicity comparison of RHDV and RHDV2 in China by using relative quantitative assay

Abstract

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) belongs to Lagovirus in the Caliciviridae family. RHDV is an acute, septic, and highly lethal disease in rabbits. RHDV2, a new variant of RHDV, caused explosive mortality in rabbits of all ages in Sichuan Province, China. To explore the differences in pathogenicity of rabbits infected with RHDV2/RHDV, we investigated the virulence and disease progression of a naturally occurring RHDV/RHDV2 in 4-week-old, 13-week-old, and 25-week-old New Zealand White laboratory rabbits after RHDV/RHDV2 infection. Objective measures of disease progression were recorded through a continuous body temperature monitor. We observed the kittens were infected with RHDV2 in the most urgent course of the disease, and RHDV is not lethal to kittens. We found that the target organ of both RHDV and RHDV2 was the liver, but the disease course of the two viruses was different. Our study enriches the research on the pathogenicity of RHDV2 and RHDV under the same conditions. We carried out studies on the infection of RHDV2 and RHDV in rabbits of different ages under the same conditions, which enriched the study on the pathogenicity of RHD.