Abstract
Ecosystem effects of variant rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus, Iberian Peninsula.
Highlights
To the Editor: In this investigation, we found evidence for the apparent effects that a new variant of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is having on native wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations on the Iberian Peninsula, and how this virus could threaten the conservation of endangered predators
European rabbits were extremely abundant on the Iberian Peninsula, which is in their native range
During the late 1980s, a calicivirus, RHDV, caused infections that made a strong impact on rabbit populations, causing initial mortality rates of 55%–75% in Iberia [1]
Summary
To the Editor: In this investigation, we found evidence for the apparent effects that a new variant of the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is having on native wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations on the Iberian Peninsula, and how this virus could threaten the conservation of endangered predators. Since 2012, the new variant of RHDV has been detected in most rabbit farms in Spain [6], and in several wild populations distributed across Spain and Portugal [7], suggesting that it has rapidly spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
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