title: A pathogenic myxoma virus in vaccinated and non-vaccinated commercial rabbits.
abstract: A case of a myxoma virus strain in vaccinated and non-vaccinated rabbits is described, and genetic identification of that strain was performed in this study. In two commercial farms being 150km apart, myxomatosis has been occurred after the import of animals from a common supplier. The disease was manifested firstly in the existing non-immune population of does and fatteners, and later in all vaccinated animals, being 2-3 months immune at the time of first symptoms. Morbidity was almost 100% with nasal discharge, listlessness, fever, eyelid swelling, eye and nasal purulent discharge, papules in the ears, facial oedema, and swelling of the anagenital region, with result always the death of the animals. Examination by PCR had shown the presence of a 492-bp specific product in all the symptomatic animals tested from both farms, having 100% nucleotide sequence identity with the homologous region of the myxoma virus Lausanne strain. The simultaneous occurrence of myxomatosis in the vaccinated and non-vaccinated rabbits of both farms, suggests that the supplier was possibly the source of a viral isolate with increased virulence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. skritas@vet.auth.gr
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kritas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dovas
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fortomaris
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petridou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farsang
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koptopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary; D005123:Eye / Q000821:virology; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D009233:Myxoma virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011213:Poxviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011817:Rabbits; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014765:Viral Vaccines
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D014765:Viral Vaccines