The application of recombinant Vp60-based ELISA for haemorrhagic disease virus antibody detection to vaccination against RHD

Rabbit Viral Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) is a highly contagious viral disease with a heavy mortality rate, originally detected in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in 1980. In 2010, a new genotype of the virus was identified, called RHD2 (currently RHDV GI2), which infected rabbits previously vaccinated against RHD and was characterized by high mortality in rabbits under one month. The only specific preventive measure is rabbits’ vaccination. Vaccination is accompanied by the production of specific antibodies in animals. The main methods for detecting specific antibodies to RHD are the hemagglutination inhibition reaction (HAI) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Currently in the Russian Federation there is no ELISA test system available for detecting specific antibodies to RHD in rabbits. The aim of this study is to use an “indirect” ELISA based on recombinant VP60 rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus to detect specific antibodies to RHD in rabbits in order to assess the antigenic activity of RHD vaccines.