ANTIBODY-RESPONSE TO RABBIT VIRAL HEMORRHAGIC-DISEASE VIRUS IN RED FOXES (VULPES-VULPES) CONSUMING LIVERS OF INFECTED-RABBITS (ORYCTOLAGUS-CUNICULUS)

Six red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were given oral doses of homogenized liv er from rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that died from rabbit viral he morrhagic disease (RVHD) and four control foxes were given liver from uninfected rabbits. Antibodies to RVHD virus were monitored over 6 mon ths. There was a pronounced antibody response 7 days after exposure wh ich persisted to 14 days and then diminished. Low titers still were ev ident in three foxes at the end of the experiment. Based on these resu lts, fox serum may be useful as an index of the prevalence of RVHD in sympatric rabbit populations.