Effect of Infection with Myxomatosis Virus on the Endoparasites of Rabbits

THE widespread and common occurrence of endoparasites in free-living Australian wild rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), prompted an investigation into any effect they might have on the severity of infectious myxomatosis in partially resistant animals, or in cases due to attenuated strains of the virus. Although the results so far obtained are based on a small number of rabbits and are insufficient to answer this complicated problem fully, results collected simultaneously on the behaviour of parasites, especially Graphidium strigosum , in virus-infected hosts are interesting and worth recording.