Detection of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) in nonspecific vertebrate hosts sympatric to the European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Abstract Since its detection in China in 1984, rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) has been the subject of numerous studies. Yet, the evolutionary origin of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is still under debate. For example, some aspects related to the epidemiology of the disease are still unknown, such as where the virus is hosted between RHD outbreaks. To detect the presence of RHDV in rabbit-sympatric micromammals, 51 rodents (29 Mus spretus and 22 Apodemus sylvaticus ) and 31 rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) from the same location in central Spain were analyzed. In those samples in which the virus was detected, a fragment of the VP60 protein gene from the RHDV capsid was sequenced and the phylogenetic relationships between them and other strains of RHDV in the Iberian Peninsula were analyzed. In total, five viral strains were identified in A. sylvaticus , M. spretus and O. cuniculus . All strains were found to be well supported within the clade of RHDV found in rabbits in the Iberian Peninsula. Moreover, one of the strains was found in all three species under study, which suggests the capability of RHDV to infect other mammals apart from the rabbit which have not yet been investigated. The transmission of the virus is discussed as well as its ecoepidemiological implications.