Encephalitozoon

Hinney, Barbara, Sak, Bohumil, Joachim, Anja & Kva ́ ̆ c, Martin, 2016, More than a rabbit's tale - Encephalitozoon spp. in wild mammals and birds, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 5 (1), pp. 76-87 : 82

3.2.2. Encephalitozoon in the suborder Lagomorpha

Despite the abundance and importance of encephalitozoonosis in domestic rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) ( Künzel and Joachim, 2010) reports of this infection in wild lagomorphs are rather limited ( Table 3). Encephalitozoon - positive wild rabbits were described from France with a comparatively low prevalence of 3.9% ( Chalupský et al., 1990) compared to domestic populations. Except for a single description of an E. cuniculi infected wild rabbit by Wilson (1979), no infections in the UK and in Germany in wild populations could be demonstrated so far (Cox et al., 1980; Bose et al., 2015). However, prevalence in captive rabbits in these countries were quite high ( Keeble and Shaw, 2006; Hein et al., 2014). In an early prevalence study, 880 wild rabbits ( O. cuniculus ) from Australia (Victoria) and New Zealand as well as 46 hares ( Lepus europaeus ) form Australia tested negative for E. cuniculi by serology although susceptibility to the parasite was demonstrated by experimental infections ( Cox and Ross,1980) . This may be because housed animals are much more exposed to spores especially in overcrowded conditions ( Cox and Ross, 1980). However, in a study from Western Australia, a prevalence of 25% for E. cuniculi was detected in wild rabbits ( Thomas et al., 1997), indicating a possible spread in the wild population.

In a recent study in the Czech Republic, Austria and the Slovak Republic 1.42% of European hares ( Lepus europaeus ) were tested positive for E. cuniculi by serology (B́artováet al., 2015).