Epidemiology of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus in the United

This paper reports the first detailed study of the epidemiology of RHDV under field conditions in the United Kingdom. Three rabbit populations were regularly serum-sampled for up to 114 weeks by mark--recapture. Spreading of pathogenic and nonpathogenic RHDV was analysed at both the population level and the individual level, by detecting seroconversion of individuals and comparing mortality rates of seronegatives and seropositives. The aims of this study were (i) to determine whether a non-pathogenic strain of RHDV was endemic, and if so then when its transmission occurred ; (ii) to quantify the impact of any outbreak of pathogenic RHDV ; and (iii) to determine how long immunity to RHDV laste