Wild rabbit sampling continues to be held to investigate the new strain of rabbit’s viral hemorrhagic disease

In 2010 it was detected a new strain of rabbit’s viral hemorrhagic disease in France and, lately, in 2011, it was detected in rabbit’s lands in the north of Spain. Faced with the threat of the presence of the new strain of the RHD and the effects on the population of wild rabbit in Andalusia, monitoring team Life+IBERLINCE Andalusia began collecting samples from dead specimens of wild rabbit in December 2012.

After establishing a contract with the Laboratório de Virologia Molecular da Universidade de Oviedo, under Dr. Francisco Parra’s direction, the first analyzes to samples from Huelva, Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba and Jaen, with positive results to the new strain in all provinces from February 2013 began.

Also that year it was sent to Programa de Vigilância Epidemiológica some wildlife samples of Andalusia, carried out by Conselho do Meio Ambiente e Ordenamento do Território da Junta da Andaluzia, throughout a wild-rabbit’s specific epidemiological supervision program. This program gets us allowed to know the sanitary state of wild-rabbit’s populations in Andalusia.

Since then, every wild-rabbit’s sample got by Life+IBERLINCE’s team are sent to the vigilance program in spite of also working on the epidemiological virus’ follow-up in this specific specimen. At this time they are proceeding to the issue and compilation of samples to be analyzed by the program and to know the scope it took in this season.