Study of RHD in rabbits farms in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region – Results of the Livrec project
Etude de la VHD dans les élevages cunicoles en région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Résultats du projet Livrec
Résumé
Rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is threatening rabbit husbandry. Currently, the only means to face RHD are biosecurity and vaccination. In addition of the clear effects on animal welfare, RHD also has tremendous socio-economic consequences that leads many farms to shut down. This project aims to study the efficiency of different cleaning and disinfecting (C&D) protocols, the virus persistence in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and identify the key factors of its survival in the contaminated areas. Thus, 5 cases of RHD where studied. First farmers were questioned about their C&D protocols and the farms were sampled before and after C&D, then 3 months and 6 months post-C&D. Then, those samples were analysed by Anses to see if RHDV2 genome was present. This study showed that a double disinfection was more efficient to eliminate the virus and that even after 3 months post-C&D, RHDV2 was still present in several areas, especially in the rendering circuit. Therefore, a more thorough C&D should be applied in those areas.
La VHD (Viral Haemorrhagic Disease) est une maladie virale qui touche les élevages cunicoles. Il n’existe pas de traitement à cette maladie, les seuls moyens de lutte étant la biosécurité et la vaccination des animaux. Outre les impacts sur la santé animale, la VHD cause de lourdes conséquences socio-économiques avec de nombreuses fermetures d’élevages, ce qui met en danger l’avenir de la filière. Les objectifs du projet LIVREC sont donc d’étudier l’efficacité des méthodes de nettoyage et de désinfection (N&D), la persistance du virus dans l’élevage en région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes et d’identifier des facteurs-clés de sa survie dans les zones contaminées. Ces connaissances permettront d’améliorer la lutte contre cette maladie.