Resolution of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2; Lagovirus europeus GI.2) outbreak in Singapore

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting lagomorphs. The first documented cases of RHD in Singapore occurred in adult pet European rabbits in September 2020. Singapore subsequently declared the outbreak resolved in December 2020. Epidemiological investigations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transboundary and emerging diseases 2022-09, Vol.69 (5), p.3077-3083
Main Authors: Lim, Kelvin, Tan, Alwyn, Ho, Kelvin, Sng, Wendy, Lim, Hwee Ping, Chan, Cathy, Toh, Xinyu, Ong, Jasmine, Chang, Siow Foong, Fernandez, Charlene Judith
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Active control
Biosecurity
Disease
Epidemiology
GI.2
Hemorrhage
Hemorrhagic disease
National parks
Outbreaks
rabbit haemorrhagic disease
Rabbits
RHDV
RHDV2
Risk communication
Social impact
Vaccines
Viral diseases
Viruses
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Summary:Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting lagomorphs. The first documented cases of RHD in Singapore occurred in adult pet European rabbits in September 2020. Singapore subsequently declared the outbreak resolved in December 2020. Epidemiological investigations ruled out introductions via importation of infected rabbits and contaminated feed. The source could not be definitively determined. However, the findings suggested that the incident involved both inter‐ and intra‐household transmission and veterinary clinic‐household transmission. This incident demonstrated the importance of sustained application of biosecurity measures, epidemiological investigations including active case finding, control measures such as expedient vaccine dissemination and risk communications. It showed that even without a wild lagomorph population, an urbanized city‐state like Singapore could still encounter emerging diseases such as RHD. Given its social impact on rabbit owners, the National Parks Board, Singapore and private veterinarians worked together to communicate with rabbit owners in order to urge them to adopt biosecurity measures and to address their concerns.
ISSN:1865-1674
1865-1682
DOI:10.1111/tbed.14312