The calicivirus agent for rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) escaped from an island quarantine station to the Australian mainland in October 1995. Within 2 wk it was detected at an established field study site where wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were being monitored in the Flinders Ranges National Park (South Australia, Australia). During November 1995, RHD reduced the rabbit numbers on the site by 95%. Approximately 3% of the population survived challenge by RHD and developed antibodies. Most of the antibody-positive survivors were 3- to 7-wk-old when challenged. Many rabbits died underground, but counts of rabbit carcasses found on the surface indicated that approximately 1 million rabbits had died above ground in the National Park, and that >30 million rabbits may have died in adjacent areas during the November epidemic.
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1 April 1998
THE INITIAL IMPACT OF RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE ON EUROPEAN RABBIT POPULATIONS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Greg Mutze,
Brian Cooke,
Peter Alexander
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 34 • No. 2
April 1998
Vol. 34 • No. 2
April 1998
biological control
Calicivirus
epidemic
European rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
rabbit hemorrhagic disease