Inconspicuous post-mortem findings in rabbits from Switzerland naturally -infected with Rabbit Haemorrhagic -Disease Virus 2.

Abstract

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV-2) emerged in France in 2010. In Switzerland, RHDV-2 was first identified in 2015 and apparently has almost replaced the classical Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV) by now. Like RHDV, RHDV-2 causes a viral hepatitis with a peracute course and an increased mortality rate within the rabbitry. RHDV infection causes consistent gross pathological findings, especially in the liver and respiratory tract. Reports about gross pathology for animals naturally infected with RHDV-2 is scarce. The present study analysed the anamnesis and necropsy reports of 35 rabbits examined during routine diagnostics between March 2015 and May 2017. A reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) specific for RHDV-2 and RHDV proved a total of 25 animals to be positive for RHDV-2, while none was positive for RHDV. Additionally, histological examinations were performed on liver, lung, and kidney of 18 rabbits that had tested positive by RHDV-2 RT-qPCR. The anamnestic report more often stated an increased mortality rate in RHDV-2 positive (16/18, 89 %) compared to RHDV-2 negative rabbits (3/9, 33 %). Gross pathology did not reveal any pathognomonic changes in RHDV-2 positive animals. Histologically, the liver showed the most severe lesions followed by lung and kidney. Animals positive for RHDV-2 frequently showed signs of gastro-intestinal disease (n = 5) and/or septicaemia (n = 6) masking possible indicators of an RHDV-2 infection, such as the rather unspecific findings of an enlarged spleen or an enlarged, friable, tan-coloured liver. The authors want to raise awareness among clinicians and pathologists that in case of sudden death in commercial or pet rabbits, RHDV-2 needs to be considered as differential diagnosis and should be confirmed by laboratory diagnosis.