Early pathogenesis in rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2

To detail early tissue distribution and innate immune response to rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2), 13 rabbits were orally (Oryctolagus cuniculus) inoculated with liver homogenate made from a feral rabbit that succumbed to RHDV2 during the 2020 outbreak in Oregon, USA. Rabbits were monitored regularly, with euthanasia and collection of tissues and swabs, at 12, 24, 36, 48, 96, and 144 h post inoculation. Livers from these rabbits were positive by RT-rtPCR for presence of the virus. Using RNAscope for viral and replicative intermediates, rabbits had detectable viral genomic RNA at each time point, initially within the gastrointestinal tract, then in the liver by 36 h post inoculation. Also using RNAscope, there were increasing amounts of mRNA coding for TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β within the liver and spleen through 48 h post inoculation. The results of this study aided our understanding of the local innate immune response to RHDV2, as well as aspects of pathogenesis. •Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus drives pathogenesis via cytokine storm.•Viral portal of entry is the intestine, entering liver via portal vasculature.•Hepatocytes overproduce TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, leading to hypercoagulability.•In-situ hybridization shows cytokine production at sites of productive infection.