Update on rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2-like variant in Great Britain

FURTHER to our short communication on rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) 2-like variant (Westcott and Choudhury 2015) we would like to provide an update on the current situation regarding RHDV confirmed cases in Great Britain (GB). Recently concerns have been raised by veterinarians and rabbit owners due to disease outbreaks and deaths in rabbit populations (Harcourt-Brown 2016). Since our last report (Westcott and Choudhury 2015), 21 liver samples have been submitted to the APHA for RHDV confirmation and characterisation by PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. As a …