Rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is a highly contagious and acute fatal disease of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), caused by a calicivirus. A similar disease, caused by a different calicivirus and termed European brown hare syndrome (EBHS), has been described in the hare (Lepus europaeus). The aetiological agent is a different calicivirus, antigenically related to the RHD virus (R...

We examine mortality in five terrestrial species of game animals resulting from an extreme flood event in Central Europe in July 1997. We present species-specific mortality rates and collate them with local abundances to show the susceptibilities of the different species to flood mortality. We also compare mortality rates in areas inundated by the main river and by its tributaries. Data were co...

The oocysts of coccidian of the genus Eimeria were sought in the caecal contents of 46 Lepus granatensis and 18 L. europaeus captured in France. Parasites were found in 34 of the hares. Parasite load was mainly very low. However, species diversity was considerable. 21 species or subspecies were identified, of which 13 species and two subspecies were not previously described. Three of the taxa, ...

OBJECTIVES A recently identified mecA homologue, mecC, in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been isolated from humans and different animal hosts. The aim of this study was to determine antimicrobial resistance and provide molecular characterization of MRSA and methicillin-resistant non-Staphylococcus aureus staphylococci (MRnSA) isolated from wildlife that carried the gene ...

Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) were recently deemed responsible for an outbreak of human leishmaniasis affecting metropolitan Madrid, Spain. However, the reservoir potential of hares in Europe is poorly known. We report a retrospective survey on Leishmania infantum, the causal agent of zoonotic endemic leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin, infection status of Iberian, European (Le. europ...

Ecosystem disturbances, such as wildfires, are driving forces that determine ecology and conservation measures. Species respond differentially to wildfires, having diverse post-fire population evolution. This study reports, for first time, the responses of brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) to wildfires. Hare relative abundance, age ratio, diet quality, body condition, and diseases were ...

BACKGROUND Two main genetic groups (B.12 and B.FTNF002-00) of Francisella tularensis ssp. holarctica are endemic in Europe. The B.FTNF002-00 group proved to be dominant in Western European countries, while strains of the B.12 group were isolated mainly in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The clinical course of tularemia in the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) also shows distinct patte...

Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularaemia. The bacterium has developed several extracellular and intracellular strategies to evade the hosts' innate and adaptive immune responses. The aims of the study were to examine complement sensitivity of wild and attenuated F. tularensis ssp. holarctica strains in animal hosts of distinct s...

We identify a compact and sufficient set of building blocks which constitute most design patterns of the GoF catalog: uniform sets of classes or functions, function clans, class hierarchies, and regularities (morphisms) thereof. The abstractions observed are manifested within a model in symbolic logic and defined in LePUS, a declarative, higher order language. LePUS formulae concisely prescribe...