Abstract
1. The European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) bred successfully in wild rabbits on three properties in New South Wales and, within two breeding seasons, almost every rabbit shot within a quarter of a mile of a release site was infested.
2. It was demonstrated that the flea transmitted myxoma virus in the field.
3. In areas where more than 75% of the rabbits shot at the beginning of the breeding season were flea-infested and myxoma virus was present, populations failed to show the expected summer build-up.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- FENNER F., CHAPPLE P. J. EVOLUTIONARY CHANGES IN MYXOMA VIRUS IN BRITAIN. AN EXAMINATION OF 222 NATURALLY OCCURRING STRAINS OBTAINED FROM 80 COUNTIES DURING THE PERIOD OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1962. J Hyg (Lond) 1965 Jun;63:175–185. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400045083. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- FENNER F., MARSHALL I. D. A comparison of the virulence for European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of strains of myxoma virus recovered in the field in Australia, Europe and America. J Hyg (Lond) 1957 Jun;55(2):149–191. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400037098. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- FENNER F., POOLE W. E., MARSHALL I. D., DYCE A. L. Studies in the epidemiology of infectious myxomatosis of rabbits. VI. The experimental introduction of the European strain of myxoma virus into Australian wild rabbit populations. J Hyg (Lond) 1957 Jun;55(2):192–206. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400037104. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MARSHALL I. D. The influence of ambient temperature on the course of myxomatosis in rabbits. J Hyg (Lond) 1959 Dec;57:484–497. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400020325. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MYERS K. Studies in the epidemiology of infectious myxomatosis of rabbits. II. Field experiments, August-November 1950, and the first epizootic of myxomatosis in the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia. J Hyg (Lond) 1954 Mar;52(1):47–59. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400027248. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MYKYTOWYCZ R. The effect of season and mode of transmission on the severity of myxomatosis due to an attenuated strain of the virus. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1956 Apr;34(2):121–132. doi: 10.1038/icb.1956.15. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]