Adult rabbits acquire resistance to lethal calicivirus infection by adoptive transfer of sera from infected young rabbits.
Calicivirus infection of adult rabbits induces the so-called rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) that kills 90% or more of the infected animals; in contrast, young rabbits (up to 8-week-old animals) are resistant to the same infectious agent. We report that calicivirus inoculation of young rabbits induced moderate titres of antiviral antibodies. When these rabbits reached adulthood, a second calicivirus inoculation resulted in resistance to RHD and boosting of antibody titres in half of the rabbits. Adoptive transfer of sera from calicivirus-infected young rabbits to naïve adult rabbits conferred resistance to RHD. We conclude that calicivirus infection of young rabbits induces specific anti-calicivirus antibodies that will protect them from RHD when they reach adulthood.
Ferreira
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PG
Department of Anatomy, University of Porto, Largo Professor Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal. pferreir@icbas.up.pt
Dinís
M
M
Costa-E-Silva
A
A
Aguas
A P
AP
D019264:Adoptive Transfer / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017250:Caliciviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D017929:Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Rabbit / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral