Detection of the new emerging rabbit haemorrhagic disease type 2 virus (RHDV2) in Sicily from rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus)

- The emerging lagovirus RHDV2 caused an outbreak of rabbit haemorrhagic disease among wild rabbits.
- RHDV2 also infected an Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) for the first time.
- The Italian hare showed gross lesions compatible with RHD.
- Differently from classical RHDV, RHDV2 infects not only rabbits but also hares.
- Different hare species may have different susceptibility to RHDV2.

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a member of the genus Lagovirus, causes rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), a fatal hepatitis of rabbits, not previously reported in hares. Recently, a new RHDV-related virus emerged, called RHDV2. This lagovirus can cause RHD in rabbits and disease and mortality in Lepus capensis (Cape hare). Here we describe a case of RHDV2 infection in another hare species, Lepus corsicanus, during a concurrent RHD outbreak in a group of wild rabbits. The same RHDV2 strain infected rabbits and a hare, also causing a RHD-like syndrome in the latter. Our findings confirmed the capability of RHDV2 to infect hosts other than rabbits and improve the knowledge about the epidemiology and the host range of this new lagovirus.