Avian and Rabbit Virology, Immunology and Parasitology Unit, Anses, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, Ploufragan-Plouzané Laboratory, BP 53, 22440, Ploufragan, France.
University Bretagne Loire, CS 54417, 35044, Rennes Cedex, France.
Vet Res. 2017 Oct 28;48(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s13567-017-0473-y.
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is a lagovirus that causes rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In 2010, a new genotype called RHDV2 emerged in France. It exhibits a larger host range than classical RHDV strains by sporadically infecting different hare species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that closely related RHDV2 strains circulate locally in both hares and rabbits, and therefore that RHDV2 strains infecting hares do not belong to a lineage that has evolved only in this species. We showed that RHDV2 is widely distributed in France and that it was responsible for more than a third of cases of lagovirus disease in European hare populations in 2015. The oldest RHDV2 positive hare was sampled in November 2013 and we reported two hares co-infected by EBHSV and RHDV2. All together, our results raise important epidemiological and evolutionary issues. In particular, along with the potential emergence of recombinant EBHSV/RHDV2 strains in hares, the enlargement of the host range changes the host population structure of RHDV2 and may alter the impact of the virus on rabbit and hare populations.
兔出血症病毒（RHDV）是一种长尾病毒，可引起欧洲兔（Oryctolagus cuniculus）的兔出血症（RHD）。2010 年，法国出现了一种新的基因型，称为 RHDV2。它通过偶尔感染不同的野兔物种（包括欧洲野兔（Lepus europaeus）），表现出比经典 RHDV 菌株更大的宿主范围。系统进化分析表明，在野兔和兔子中局部循环的密切相关的 RHDV2 株，因此感染野兔的 RHDV2 株不属于仅在该物种中进化的谱系。我们表明，RHDV2 在法国广泛分布，并且在 2015 年欧洲野兔种群中由 lagovirus 病引起的三分之一以上的病例是由 RHDV2 引起的。最古老的 RHDV2 阳性野兔于 2013 年 11 月采样，我们报告了两只野兔同时感染了 EBHSV 和 RHDV2。总的来说，我们的研究结果提出了重要的流行病学和进化问题。特别是，随着重组 EBHSV/RHDV2 株在野兔中的潜在出现，宿主范围的扩大改变了 RHDV2 的宿主种群结构，并可能改变病毒对兔和野兔种群的影响。
