Análisis de la patogenicidad de la nueva variante de la enfermedad vírica hemorrágica del conejo (RHDVb)

Abstract

Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) was first described in 1984 as a rabbit-specific disease. The first outbreak of RHD was reported in China, where big losses were registered after the importation of angora rabbits from Germany. Initially, losses were attributed to a toxin which could produce an acute haemorrhagic disease in the animals, as some poisons do. However, the most supported hypothesis was that a pathogenic agent was responsible for the disease. The outbreaks expanded during the next few months, causing millions of losses in Asia and then in Europe. The disease spread rapidly across the continent and soon became endemic. The Mediterranean area was especially impacted by this plague due to the broad rabbit populations established in this region. In spite of the control measures, the disease rapidly reached the Americas. The epidemics in this continent were only eradicated in Mexico, which is now the only country able to eliminate the disease from its territory. The enormous virulence and intense capacity of transmission of the disease made it a global and concerning plague...