Leporid herpesvirus 4
Overview
Leporid herpesvirus 4 (LHV4) is a novel alphaherpesvirus identified in domestic rabbits O. cuniculus.
There are four known herpesviruses of rabbits. LHV1 & LVH3 are gammaherpesviruses and do not affect domestic rabbits. LHV2 (aka virus 3 and Herpesvirus cuniculi) is also a gammaherpesvirus that was first found in domestic laboratory rabbits in the mid-1920s and is asymptomatic. LHV4 is classified as an alphaherpesvirus and can cause death in domestic rabbits.
- LHV1 cottontail herpesvirus found in Sylvilagus floridanus Eastern cottontail
- LHV2 Found in domestic laboratory rabbits in 1924 while looking for causative agent of chickenpox
- LHV3 Herpesvirus sylvilagus found in Sylvilagus floridanus Eastern cottontail
- LHV4 Found in both commercial and pet rabbits in 1990
LHV4 Reports
- 1990's - Commercial rabbits in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, Canada. Thought to be LHV4.
- 2008 - Mini Rex and crossbred rabbits in a rabbitry in Alaska. LHV4 affected over half of the 55 rabbits on the premises, and 16 rabbits died or were euthanatized because of illness.
- 2010 - 1.5-year-old intact female New Zealand white pet rabbit in northern Ontario, Canada. Housed outside in a hutch.
Symptoms
Affected animals presented with conjunctivitis, subcutaneous swellings, lethargy, respiratory distress, and abortion. A novel alphaherpesvirus, termed leporid herpesvirus-4 (LHV-4), was isolated and characterized from that outbreak.[1]
As a note natural infections of Human herpesvirus 1 (herpes simplex 1) have been reported in rabbits, resulting in fatal encephalitis.[1]
Further reading
- Bobby Babra, Gregory Watson, Wayne Xu, Brendan M. Jeffrey, Jia-Rong Xu, Daniel D. Rockey, George F. Rohrmann, Ling Jin, Analysis of the genome of leporid herpesvirus 4
- Janet R Sunohara-Neilson, Marina Brash, Susy Carman, Éva Nagy, Patricia V Turner, Experimental Infection of New Zealand White Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculi) with Leporid herpesvirus 4
- David Peacock, PhD, The Wildlife Professional Magazine, How Australia Controls Its Wild Rabbits
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marina L. Brash, Éva Nagy, Yanlong Pei, Susy Carman, Susan Emery, Alec E. Smith, and Patricia V. Turner. (2010). Acute hemorrhagic and necrotizing pneumonia, splenitis, and dermatitis in a pet rabbit caused by a novel herpesvirus (leporid herpesvirus-4).