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Abstract
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD), also known as rabbit calicivirus disease, is a highly contagious and acute fatal disease of wild and domestic European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). This disease was first described in the Peoples' Republic of China in 1984 (Liu et al., 1984) and it is currently endemic in Asia, Europe (Lavazza and Capucci, 1996) and very recently in Australia. RHD is characterised by high morbidity and a mortality rate between 40% and 90% (Marcato et al., 1991). Infection occurs in rabbits of all ages, but clinical disease is observed only in rabbits more than 40-50 days old (Lavazza and Capucci, 1996). The routine diagnostic tests for the laboratory confirmation of RHD are either the ELISA or the haemagglutination test or histology.