Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, Australia.
Virology. 2010 Mar 1;398(1):125-34. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2009.11.045. Epub 2010 Jan 19.
Two caliciviruses occur in Australian wild rabbits: rabbit calicivirus Australia 1 (RCV-A1) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), which is used in Australia as a biocontrol agent to reduce feral rabbit populations. There is concern that RCV-A1 acts as a natural vaccine and protects from lethal RHDV infection. To investigate this hypothesis, domestic rabbits were perorally infected with RCV-A1, monitored for 28 days and subsequently challenged with RHDV. We show that RCV-A1 causes a non-pathogenic infection and is shed in faeces for up to 7 days post-infection. RCV-A1 was detected in the bile 2 months post-inoculation, indicating a prolonged or possible persistent infection. All animals infected with RCV-A1 developed antibodies cross-reacting to RHDV. When challenged with RDHV, half of the rabbits (n=4) survived the infection. The results indicate that RCV-A1 is likely to persist in rabbit populations and can elicit partial cross-protection to lethal RHDV infection.
澳大利亚兔杯状病毒 1 型（RCV-A1）和兔出血症病毒（RHDV），后者在澳大利亚被用作生物控制剂来减少野兔数量。人们担心 RCV-A1 可以作为天然疫苗，保护兔子免受致命的 RHDV 感染。为了验证这一假说，我们用 RCV-A1 经口感染家兔，监测 28 天，然后用 RHDV 进行攻毒。结果表明，RCV-A1 引起非致病性感染，在感染后最多可在粪便中排出 7 天。RCV-A1 在接种后 2 个月在胆汁中被检测到，表明存在持续性或可能持续性感染。所有感染 RCV-A1 的动物都产生了与 RHDV 交叉反应的抗体。当用 RHDV 攻毒时，一半的兔子（n=4）存活下来。结果表明，RCV-A1 可能在兔群中持续存在，并能对致命的 RHDV 感染产生部分交叉保护。
