Serological evidence for the presence of non-pathogenic rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus-like strains in rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus of the Kerguelen archipelago

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Marchandeau, Stéphane, Bertagnoli, Stéphane, Léonard, Yves, Santin-Janin, Hugues, Péralta, Brigitte, Le Gall-Reculé, Ghislaine, Pontier, Dominique
• Other Authors: Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS), Direction des Etudes et de la Recherche, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Interactions hôtes-agents pathogènes Toulouse (IHAP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT), Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive - UMR 5558 (LBBE), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA), Unité de virologie, Immunologie, Parasitologie, Aviaires et Cunicoles, Université européenne de Bretagne - European University of Brittany (UEB)-Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), We thank the French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV) (programme 279), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), programme Santé-Environnement et Santé-Travail (SEST): “Pathocénose et émergence des maladies transmissibles: un concept unificateur mis à l’épreuve sur des pathologies exemplaires”, and the Fédération Nationale des Chasseurs (FNC) for financial support.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus; Antibodies; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Kerguelen archipelago; [SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; [SDV.MP.VIR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Virology; Kerguelen; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00539305; https://hal.science/hal-00539305v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-00539305v1/file/Marchandeau2010.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0778-z

Antibodies raised against a Lagovirus were found in healthy rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus sampled in 2003 and 2004 in the Kerguelen archipelago. The serological test we used enabled the detection of antibodies due to both pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses related to the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). The overall proportion of seropositive rabbits was 35% and differed between sites. Since previous studies have failed to detect antibodies raised against pathogenic RHDV strains, the antibodies detected in the present study were likely due to non-pathogenic strains. The interest of these strains circulating in the Kerguelen archipelago is that they have evolved independently of those detected in the other parts of the world and should derive from an ancestral RHDV precursor. Their characterization may help understanding the evolution of the virus and the emergence of the disease.