Real-time PCR kit for the detection of rabbit haemorrhagic disease types 1 and 2

Target organisms: the single-stranded RNA-positive rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV).

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) affects adult domestic and wild rabbits. This disease is highly contagious and is characterised by acute necrotising hepatitis, although haemorrhages may also occur in other organs, particularly the lungs, heart and kidneys, due to disseminated intravascular coagulation. HRCV has two distinct serotypes: HRCV-1 and HRCV-2. VHRC-1 can cause the death of most or all rabbits (mortality rate 80–90 per cent), whilst rabbits infected with VHRC-2 show variable mortality rates (ranging from 5 to 70 per cent).

In addition to primers for the detection of pathogenic RNA, the kit contains an internal extraction control (IEC), which confirms that nucleic acids have been properly extracted from the selected biological sample.