Rabbitpox is a disease of

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

s caused by a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

of the genus '' Orthopoxvirus'' in the family ''

Poxviridae ''Poxviridae'' is a family of double-stranded DNA viruses. Vertebrates and arthropods serve as natural hosts. There are currently 83 species in this family, divided among 22 genera, which are divided into two subfamilies. Diseases associated wit ...

'', and closely related to

vaccinia virus ''Vaccinia virus'' (VACV or VV) is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, which encodes approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the ...

. Rabbitpox was first isolated at the Rockefeller Institute in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1933, following a series of

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

s in the laboratory rabbits. It is an acute disease only known to infect laboratory rabbits as no cases have been reported in wild rabbits; it cannot infect humans.

History

Rabbitpox has not been recognised in wild rabbits, however a few outbreaks have been reported in the USA since 1930.Merck Veterinary Manual
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Symptoms

*Pox lesions may or may not be present on the skin. *Most rabbits develop a fever and nasal discharge. *The mortality varies but is always high. *The most characteristic lesions seen at necropsy are a skin rash, subcutaneous

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

, and edema of the mouth and other body openings.

Infection

''Rabbitpox virus'' is a highly infectious airborne agent, which spreads very rapidly through laboratories which contain rabbits causing a high rate of mortality. Because of the edematous condition, “poxless” rabbitpox may be confused with

myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by ''Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus ''Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North Ame ...

. The virus may be isolated or the infection diagnosed serologically by methods appropriate to

vaccinia ''Vaccinia virus'' (VACV or VV) is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, which encodes approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the ...

. Rabbitpox virus is closely related immunologically to vaccinia virus, consequently rabbits that have been inoculated with the

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

(vaccinia virus) vaccine have immunity against rabbitpox.

Danger to humans

Rabbitpox virus does not infect humans.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7278643 Rabbit diseases Poxviruses Animal viral diseases Infraspecific virus taxa