European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were collected monthly over a 10-yr period and the incidence of myxomatosis and the size of helminth populations were recorded. Myxomatosis occurred annually, always as an epidemic in the latter half of the year and was associated with both an increase in the percentage of animals infected and the size of the infections of the nematodes Trichostrongylus retortaeformis and Passalurus ambiguus and the cestode Mosgovoyia pectinata. It is suggested that myxomatosis had the effect of reducing the rabbits' overall immune response to infection and that due to the regular annual occurrence of myxomatosis, the resulting increase in the size of helminth infections must be considered an integral part of the population dynamics of these parasites.
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1 July 1988
OBSERVATIONS ON THE SEASONAL INCIDENCE OF MYXOMATOSIS AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH HELMINTH PARASITES IN THE EUROPEAN RABBIT (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS)
Brian Boag
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 24 • No. 3
July 1988
Vol. 24 • No. 3
July 1988
cestodes
helminth parasites
helminth–virus interaction
myxomatosis
nematodes
Oryctolagus cuniculus
rabbit