Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T16:03:39.345Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Myxomatosis: the introduction of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) into wild rabbit populations in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

W. R. Sobey
Affiliation:
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Animal Genetics, P.O. Box 90, Epping, N.S.W., 2121, Australia
Dorothy Conolly
Affiliation:
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Animal Genetics, P.O. Box 90, Epping, N.S.W., 2121, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

References

REFERENCES

Allan, R. M. (1956). A study of the populations of the rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) on the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus in north-east Scotland. Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London 31, 145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armour, C. J. & Thompson, H. V. (1955). Spread of myxomatosis in the first outbreak in Great Britain. Annals of Applied Biology 43, 511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, F. & Marshall, I. D. (1957). A comparison of the virulence for European rabbits (Oryctolagus cunicidus) of strains of myxoma virus recovered in the field in Australia, Europe and America. Journal of Hygiene 55, 149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fenner, F. & Chapple, P. J. (1965). Evolutionary changes in myxoma virus in Britain. An examination of 222 naturally occurring strains obtained from 80 countries during the period October–November 1962. Journal of Hygiene 63, 175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, F., Poole, W. E., Marshall, I. D. & Dyce, A. L. (1957). 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. Journal of Hygiene 55, 192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fenner, F. & Ratcliffe, F. N. (1965). Myxomatosis. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lazarus, M. (1956). The toxicity and relative acceptability of some poisons to the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (L). C.S.I.R.O. Wildlife Research 1, 96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lockley, R. M. (1954). The European rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi, as a vector of myxomatosis in Britain. Veterinary Record 66, 434.Google Scholar
Lord, R. D. (1959). The lens as an indicator of age in Cottontail rabbits. Journal of Wildlife Management 23, 358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, I. D. (1959). The influence of ambient temperature on the course of myxomatosis in rabbits. Journal of Hygiene 57, 484.Google ScholarPubMed
Mead-Briggs, A. R. & Rudge, A. J. B. (1960). Breeding of the rabbit flea, Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale): requirement of a ‘factor’ from a pregnant rabbit for ovarian maturation. Nature, London 187, 1136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, K. (1954). Studies in the epidemiology of infectious myxomatosis of rabbits. II. Field experiments August–November 1950 and the first epizootic of myxomatosis in the Riverina Plain of south-eastern Australia. Journal of Hygiene 52, 47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, K. & Gilbert, N. (1968). Determination of age of wild rabbits in Australia. Journal of Wildlife Management 32, 841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mykytowycz, R. (1956). The effect of season and mode of transmission on the severity of myxomatosis due to an attenuated strain of the virus. Australian Journal of Experimental Biology and Medical Science 34, 121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivers, T. M. & Ward, S. M. (1937). Infectious myxomatosis of rabbits. Preparation of elementary bodies and studies of serologically active materials associated with the disease. Journal of Experimental Medicine 66, 1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowley, I. (1968). Studies on the resurgence of rabbit populations after poisoning. C.S.I.R.O. Wildlife Research 13, 59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sobey, W. R., Conolly, D. & Adams, K. M. (1966). Myxomatosis: a simple method of sampling blood and testing for circulating soluble antigens or antibodies to them. Australian Journal of Science 28, 354.Google Scholar
Sobey, W. R., Conolly, D. & Adams, K. M. (1967). Myxomatosis: The preparation of myxoma virus for inoculation via the eye. Australian Journal of Science 30, 233.Google Scholar
Sobey, W. R. & Menzies, W. (1969). Myxomatosis: The introduction of the European rabbit flea Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) into Australia. Australian Journal of Science 31, 404.Google Scholar
Vaughan, N. E. M. & Vaughan, J. A. (1968). Some aspects of the epizootiology of myxomatosis. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 24, 289.Google Scholar